A Sale on Ramen
by shadowtiger23
Summary: When Naruto learns of his heritage the night of the scroll, he decides to forge a new path. A path that will let the world know the name Naruto Uzumaki. With a new team, new sensei, and a created jutsu, the blonde shinobi will have all the support he needs.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

_Seven years after the Kyuubi attack_

_As the sun began to set on the horizon and everyone's watches chimed for six, the village of Konohagakure began to close their shops for the day and go home. Chunin guards at different gates in villages were exchanging shifts and were turning in their visitor check-in logs to the council. Genin teams wrapped their daily missions/chores around the village. The village guard were taking their positions for they nightly watch. And finally, the special Jonin and ANBU were either reporting to the Hokage about the success of their missions or were leaving for their current ones._

_But in the hour of closing down, one business chose to remain open for a few more hours. Ichiraku Ramen, like any restaurant, remained open for customers who worked late in the evenings and didn't want to fix their own meals. It was a small stand, only room for handful of people to eat. The chairs were positioned right at the counter that separated the kitchen to the outside. _

_In a small room in the back, there was a man shifting through ingredient boxes. He was tall, but reaching past his prime. The wrinkles around his face sagged due to the loose skin, making his eyes look like he was squinting. But they were more featured around his mouth, where he gave the impression he smiled a lot._

_In the front, wiping off the counter as another full customer left, was a girl around the age of ten. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail and accented her bright, brown eyes. She was just barely taller than the counter top and had to use a stool to clean and cook._

_Ichiraku's never made a lot of money, but they had enough to live on and that was enough._

_Just then, the man walked out carrying a medium-sized box. "We're about out of shrimp, Ayame, so I'm bringing out the miso ingredients. We over-ordered so we need to sell it before we can order more."_

_"Okay, dad. I'll put it as our special," Ayame said. She walked to a board that hung outside the shop and wrote the new price for miso ramen. She then walked back inside to serve a couple of chunins that were just getting off their shifts._

* * *

_Just a few blocks away from the shop, a young boy was walking to his apartment after his daily. He was skinny, too skinny for a average seven-year-old. It didn't help that his clothes were extremely baggy with holes and faded spots on them. His mop of blonde hair hung in spikes around his head, giving the impression he gave his own haircuts with a pair of safety scissors. On each side of his face were three marks that made him look like a overgrown cat. _

_These marks were only a slight distraction to the boy's blue eyes. Eyes that hold a infinite amount of sadness and loneliness that only a few people noticed._

_The boy had just gotten his weekly allowance from one of the few people who cared about him: the Sandaime Hokage, leader and strongest shinobi of Konoha. Sarutobi Hiruzen._

_The Hokage had watched out for the boy for as long as he could remember. He often gave him the knowledge on how to be a true ninja when several of teachers at the academy wouldn't tell him. The pair would often go shopping together for groceries, spend time at the park, or would often just stay at the top of the Hokage tower and watch the sunset._

_But today, the Hokage was busier than usual and couldn't accompany the boy on his grocery run. And whenever the boy would buy groceries alone, he would get charged more than the regular price. When he tried to point that out to the cashier, they would just throw him out of the store._

_It just wasn't the food stores. Many clothes stores would charge him more than the average price for a regular t-shirt and pants. Even if he was at a second-rate shop buying hand-me-downs. A few restaurants would charge him expensive prices for a simple meal or would simply ignore him until he left._

_Then there were the looks and whispers. Anywhere he went, he would often get dirty looks for just simply giving people a glance or he would hear very bad things whispered and hushed about him that when he asked the Hokage what they meant, he would see the old man scowl and tell the boy that whatever they said was not true and the people were ignorant. _

_The boy noticed that the one word the mentioned the most was 'demon'._

_To top off his loneliness, the boy never had any friends. When he was done with his classes, he would often go to the park to try and play with the other kids. He was always encouraged by the Hokage to play with children his own age, but whenever he arrived, parents would immediately pick up the children and leave. A word was never spoken to him, just a cold glare and a hurried retreat. Furthermore, when there were children for him to play with, they would just turn away and tell him that he was a bad kid. That he was a negative influence on them because their parents said so._

_So there were often times he was setting alone on a swing, just gazing out at children with their parents._

_But right now, he was walking home to an apartment that the Hokage was kind enough to provide him with. It was a little bit run down, but he appreciated it all the same. The Sandaime paid for all of his bills, so he never had to worry about getting a job. B ut there were times when his apartment door would be vandalized and he would have to pay to clean it up._

_On his way, he was trying to figure out how he was going to eat this week. His weekly allowance was enough, but once again, he was overcharged for the basic necessities. He didn't want to bother the Hokage anymore than he had to. But he had to do something or else he would have to resort to digging out of dumpsters again. _

_So he thought it was a miracle when he saw a sign outside of a small, ramen stand with curtains covering the entrance. It read 'Miso special: Two for the price of One'. He always knew ramen_ _was cheap, but was always discouraged for eating it. The Sandaime said it was unhealthy for him. But with this new price, he could almost get a full-meal's worth of food. _

_The boy cautiously walked up to the stand, memories of previous restaurant and food stand visits flashing through his mind. He raised the curtains and peeked into the stand. He saw only four people: two chunin guards sitting at the counter and a young girl and old man working behind the counter. The old man noticed the boy's movement and smiled at his new customer._

_"Hello. Welcome to Ichiraku's Ramen shop. How can I help you?"_

_The boy timidly walked up to one of the chairs, gazing around as he moved. "I saw your special outside. Can I have a couple of bowls?" the boy asked as he sat down._

_"Coming right up," the old man said and turned to his daughter. "Ayame, serve up two bowls of miso for our young friend here."_

_"Sure thing, dad," said Ayame. She turned to the stove and began to boil a fresh batch of noodles. The boy followed her movements, a light blush rising on his cheeks._

_The man saw his blush and smirked. Through the years of his life, he could always spot a crush. And he could tell this young boy was smitten with his daughter._

_He leaned against the counter as his daughter cooked. "My name is Teuchi. What's yours?"_

_The boy was about to answer when a voiced coughed 'demon'._

_Teuchi saw the boy's eyes falter and look the ground. He then turned to other side of the counter to see one of the chunins snickering._

_"I don't appreciate any kind talk that discriminates my customers. Especially kids," Teuchi said hotly._

_"That isn't a kid," replied one of the chunins. "He's just trash. Scum."_

_"A demon," finished his friend._

_Teuchi heard the boy sniffle and felt his anger rise even more. Two grown men, ninjas nonetheless, were picking on and degrading a child. _

_"You call yourselves men? You're belittling a boy who has done nothing to deserve it!" he yelled._

_"Boy? This isn't a boy, he's a d-" The chunin was cut off by a loud 'thunk' on the counter in front of him. He looked down to see a giant butcher knife halfway into the wood, right between his fingers. He then shakily looked across the counter to see Ayame, perched on her box, and holding on to the handle of the knife. Her eyes had a look of unmatched fury for a ten-year-old._

_"If you say the 'd' word one more time, next time, I won't miss," Ayame gritted through her teeth._

_The chunins looked scared for a moment, before scoffing and standing up from their seats._

_"Let's get out of here. This place is good enough if they're going to serve 'him'". The two left and everyone heard them chuckling._

_Ayame sighed and pulled the knife from the counter. "They didn't pay, dad."_

_Teuchi was about to assure her it was ok when he heard coins clattering the counter. He turned to see the boy emptying his frog wallet of all the coins it had. He shook a couple of times, then groaned._

_"I'm sorry. They didn't pay because of me. I'll pay for them, so no harm done."_

_Teuchi felt his heart tug at the boy's nobility. The boy did not say one word in the past few minutes as he was degraded by those two cowards, yet he was willing to pay their fees because he believed it was his fault._

_He walked up to the boy and pushed his coins back to the boy. "Keep your change, son. What happened just now was not your fault and you shouldn't feel responsible for something you have no control over."_

_The boy sniffed and looked back down at the counter. A few moments later, he slowly gathered up his coins and put them back into his wallet. Then sat down and waited for his meal._

_A few moments later, Ayame placed two bowls of ramen in front of the boy. He picked a couple of chopsticks, broke them, then slowly begun to eat. The two behind the counter just watched him, both feeling terrible for what just happened._

_"You never did tell me what your name is, son?" Teuchi asked._

_The boy took his time swallowing before he answered._

_"Uzumaki Naruto."_

_Teuchi didn't even blink. He knew who the boy was the moment he walked into his stand. He heard the rumors about who the kid was from other venders, ninja, shopkeepers and kids. That he was orphan demon and deserved to be put down. That he caused a lot of trouble around the village for everybody and had frequent chases with the ANBU guard after pulling a prank._

_Teuchi was a man that didn't believe in rumors. He only believed what he could see for himself. Only what he could determine with his own judgement. And what he saw was a lonely child, with no family or friends. A boy who had been kicked too many times as he laid on the ground. _

_And Teuchi also knew the secret and burden the boy held. _

_He turned to his daughter, who was staring at him with her eyes glistening. One look told him she believed the same thing._

_"My name is Ayame. We're glad to have you in our stand," Ayame said with a smile._

_The boy perked up and stared unbelieving at the family. He had only a voice with that much care come from the Third Hokage. _

_"Really?" he asked._

_Teuchi smiled and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Of course."_

* * *

_It was several hours later, as their were beginning to close down, that Naruto finally left. The three spent the entire time talking and laughing. Naruto would talk about his schoolwork at the ninja academy and the time he spent with the Hokage and one his teachers at school named Iruka. Apparently, only Iruka seemed to teach Naruto anything at the academy, whilst the other teachers just ignored him. Iruka would help him out with his homework, shuriken training, and jutsu theory. They way Naruto described him was that he was a strict individual and like to give Naruto lectures on what it means to be a ninja._

_But Teuchi saw what was underneath Iruka. The man truly cared for the boy. Probably the only one besides the Samdaime._

_The Hokage, on the other hand, Naruto saw the man as a grandfather and even let himself be called one. Naruto had the upmost respect for the man and proclaimed several times that his dream was to become Hokage of the village. This way, he could earn the village's respect and make his grandfather proud._

_Ayame and Teuchi paid attention to his every word, especially when it came to his pranks. They would both laugh uncontrollably when he told them each prank in graphic detail with dramatic arm movements. Teuchi especially loved the ones when Naruto would prank the store vendors Teuchi had problems with. _

_As Ayame placed a 'closed' sign outside the shop, Teuchi began to clean up._

_"Wait! How much do I owe you?" Naruto asked._

_Teuchi smiled and went to the sink to count the bowls that Ayame placed there over the evening. He was surprised about the amount the boy ate. It was like he couldn't get enough of their ramen._

_Or the boy had never enough to eat._

_"Well Naruto, you total comes to about 1000 yen."_

_Naruto's jaw fell open. Normally, he was charged five times that amount at other restaurants. He quickly reached for his wallet and began to dig through it._

_"But....seeing as this is your first time, we'll allow this as a freebi," grinned Teuchi._

_Naruto's body froze, then he shakily returned to his seat. "I....I can't..."_

_Ayame came back from outside and put a hand on his shoulder. "Just be sure to tell everyone where you could such great ramen."_

_Naruto blushed and nodded quickly. "I will! Believe it!_"

_Teuchi laughed. "Thanks, kid. Ayame, let's get this place cleaned up."_

_Naruto jumped out of the chair. "Can I help?"_

_Father and daughter looked at each other, surprised at the boy's eagerness. Ayame knew that the 1000 yen her father charged was actually too low than the actual amount he ate. But Ayame didn't care. After the story Naruto told and the way those chunins were treating him, Naruto deserved a break._

_But here he was, eager to help out his new friends in any way he could. Ayame thought this boy was really something else._

_And that she believed he was completely adorable was another thing._

_She looked at her father, who smiled and nodded. Ayame grinned and pulled a rag from her apron. _

_"If you really want to help, you can wipe down the counters and them sweep the floor," she told him._

_Naruto nodded eagerly and started. Teuchi shut down the oven and emptied out the cooking oil from the cookers. Ayame packed up what ingredients they had and put them in a refrigerator in the back room. _

_In no time at all, the stand was clean. The trio stepped out of the small building and Teuchi reached at the top of the stand's opening. He pulled down a metal shutter and locked it at the bottom._

_"Well, this is where we part ways," Teuchi announced. He turned to Naruto. "Which way are you going?"_

_"That way," said the blonde. _

_Teuchi frowned. The direction Naruto pointed led to the bad district of the city, where the red light district was. Teuchi learned to always avoid that area and told Ayami not to get within a quarter of a mile of that place or else he would ground her for life._

_"Be careful, ok Naruto?" Teuchi asked._

_"Always," Naruto grinned. But then he looked away._

_"What's wrong?" Ayame asked. _

_It was a few moments of silence before the blonde finally answered. "Is it ok if I come by tomorrow?" Naruto whispered._

_"Of course," said Ayame. "Dad and I will always welcome you to our stand," Ayame said cheerfully._

_Teuchi smiled. She took the words right out of his mouth._

_Naruto looked up. "Thank you," he said. _

_If it wasn't for the street light, the two would have noticed the tears falling from his eyes._

_"Is something wrong, son?" Teuchi asked as he knelt down to look the boy in the eye._

_"It's just that....besides the Hokage, you two are the first to ever show me any kind of kindness. Why?"_

_Teuchi sighed. "Naruto. Never believe anything you hear from the villagers. They just believe only what they hear from others. They had never took the time to see what you really are."_

_Naruto looked up from his feet. "What?"_

_"A child. A ninja. And the future Hokage."_

_Naruto's bottom lip quivered as he jumped into Teuchi's arms and hugged the old cook. Teuchi hugged him back. Ayame soon joined in as she hugged Naruto from behind. The only sound was on the dark and empty streets was Naruto's quiet sobs._

_The three stood their for a nearly five minutes before Teuchi finally pushed Naruto away and held him at arm's length. "Feel better?"_

_Naruto sniffed, rubbed his nose with his sleeve, and nodded. He then tried to move, but noticed Ayame still held him from behind. Her father noticed she had a few tears in her eyes as well._

_"Ready to go, Ayame?" Teuchi asked._

_"One moment, dad," Ayame said. She let go of Naruto and faced him at the front. "When you become Hokage, you better still come and visit us, no matter how busy you become in the office."_

_Naruto laughed. "Kami couldn't keep me away from your shop."_

_"Good. Because I don't want my future husband to spend his time cooped up in a stuffy office," she said defiantly and kissed him on the cheek. Teuchi almost had to stuff his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing out loud at Naruto's beet red face._

_"See you tomorrow," Ayame said cheerfully and walked away. _

_"Bye, Naruto," Teuchi chuckled at the still frozen blonde and followed his daughter down the street._

_Naruto watched them fade into the dark. When he couldn't see them anymore, he turned and walked to his apartment. The smile on his face was brighter than the street lights._

_About a mile away, in an office at the top of the Hokage tower, sat the Third Hokage himself. He felt really guilty about leaving Naruto to leave shopping to himself, but he had several meetings today, one of them with the Fire Daimyo himself. When it was over and the paperwork still piled high, he decided to check on him with his crystal ball. _

_Expecting the boy to be at his apartment, he was surprised to find the boy at a ramen stand speaking with the owner and his daughter. He smiled as he could see Naruto talking cheerfully with the two cooks. Using his lip-reading skills, he could see Naruto was talking about his past pranks, Iruka, and himself. The Third forget about his work and spent the next hours watching Naruto interact with his new friends. Only when the three started cleaning up did the Sandaime realize how late it was. _

_He put his crystal ball away, stood up and stretched, feeling all his joints pop at once. He groaned at the slight pain and at the paperwork he still had to do. _

_"To hell with the paperwork," he said to himself. "Naruto's bound to be here tomorrow talking about his new friends. And I want to be there when he introduces me to them."_

W

* * *

Well I hope everyone enjoyed it. Please tell me if you did.


	2. Naruto's Life

I was really surprised to see such a reaction for my latest story, 'A Sale on Ramen'. I wasn't expecting such a overwhelming amount of readers to select this for a story alert or favorite story in a short amount of time. Now, I'll try to update this story as much as I can. But with my senior year of college starting real soon, it will be a little difficult especially with two other stories.

I'll try not to let you down

* * *

**Timeskip: 6 years later.**

Naruto cackled madly as he put the final touches on his 'masterpiece' at the Hokage monument. He had to admit, after all of his pranks, this one would top them all. The blond ninja-in-training could hear the disapproved voices from below, but that didn't stop him. With this prank, he would let the who village know that he would become a Hokage.

True, he was supposed to be in class right now. But Naruto knew Iruka was only giving a lecture about the First Great Shinobi War. If he hurried, he could get back in time for Henge training. He had a new killer-move he wanted to try out after he finally had control of his chakra.

* * *

**Flashback: Naruto 9-years-old.**

_Naruto grumbled underneath his breath as he helped Teuchi with the dishes. He had a bad time at school earlier in the day when Iruka called on all the students to practices their henges. The idea was to focus their chakra into their bodies, perform the appropriate hand symbols and focus on the image they were transforming into. It was one of the three basic jutsus there were required to master before they graduate._

_However, Naruto would always have trouble when he performed any kind of jutsu. He would spend hours meditating so he could properly clear his mind and focus on the image he wanted to transform into. But when he would tried to perform the jutsu, the henge would backfire and look like a deformed monstrosity of the original image_

_Naruto was berated by Iruka earlier today for screwing up the image. At first, he laughed it off and told everyone it was a joke. He only humiliated himself further when it backfired once again._

_Naruto swore lightly and placed a clean bowl on the drying rack, only for it to clatter loudly on the countertop._

_Teuchi turned around from balancing his records to turn to his favorite customer. "What's wrong?"_

_Naruto sighed and dried his hands with a towel. "Nothing, pops."_

_Teuchi smiled. After two years of spending everyday at the stand, Teuchi finally offered him a job. He noticed the boy was being overpriced for food and clothes so he figured Naruto could use some extra spending money. The blonde immediately agreed and started working at once. Everyday after school, Naruto would come to stand and work for a few hours. Then, he would go train on a training ground the Sandaime told him about so he wouldn't be bothered by any other ninjas. _

_The ramen cook knew that once he hired Naruto, his business attendance would go down, due to the fact that many civilians would not associate in a place where the village 'demon' would work. But Teuchi didn't care about that. _

_What he cared about was the smile that was on the young child's face when he was around people who cared about him._

_"Come on. Tell your favorite boss what's wrong."_

_Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "But you're my only boss."_

_"And don't you forget it. Now, what happened today?"_

_The boy sighed and sat down on a stool. "I goofed up on a henge test today. We were supposed to transform into a copy of the Hokage, but mine ended looking a something out of a cartoon."_

_"I bet the Third would have loved to see that," Teuchi laughed. Naruto scowled._

_"It's not funny! Iruka-sensei was really mad at me! I tell ya, that guy has it in for me!"_

_Teuchi stopped chuckling and looked Naruto in the eye. "If Iruka was really mad at you, he wouldn't have taken the time from his schedule to help tutor you on the weekends on proper hand signs, now would he?"_

_Naruto sighed. Teuchi had a point. When Naruto started working, he was surprised to Iruka stop by for lunch, in which the man was surprised to see Naruto working in a ramen stand. Naruto was nervous at first, but the more they got to talk, the more they realized they were alike. They had both lost their parent's in the Kyuubi attack, they didn't have many friends, and even though Naruto didn't show it much, they both enjoyed learning._

_Then, when Iruka was done and about to leave, Naruto left to go practice his henge's assignment that Iruka gave him the day before. When the teacher asked his student how his progress was, Naruto admitted he was having trouble with the hand signs._

_Iruka spent the rest of his free time showing Naruto some hand exercises to help loosen his fingers and increase his agility. He also suggested Naruto might try playing an instrument that involved using his fingers to make them nimble._

_He hadn't picked one yet._

_"Still, why does Iruka-sensei give me such a hard time? I try real hard in his classes, but he still gets angry at me when I mess up," Naruto complained._

_"I don't think he's angry at you," Teuchi said. "I think he was just being stern to encourage to try harder. After all, teachers can't show favoritism towards students."_

_Naruto bowed his head. "I guess you're right."_

_"How long have you been practicing?" called a voice from the back. Ayame entered the stand carrying Naruto's weekly groceries. She volunteered to do his shopping for him when she realized he was being overcharged. _

_Naruto scratched his cheek and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Well, right now, it's been about three weeks since Iruka-sensei gave us this assignment. Since then, I haven't had a single successful henge."_

_"And you got everything you need?" asked Ayame._

_"Yep. Picture the image, perform the hand signs, and add the chakra."_

_"Wait," Teuchi said suddenly. "Maybe that's it. How much chakra are you adding to your henges?"_

_Naruto's eyebrows went together. "All I can. Why?"_

_Teuchi put his hand on his chin and got into a thinking pose. "I remember a genin team came to the stand for lunch a couple of years ago. They were complaining about not being able to perform a certain jutsus their teacher taught them. When they asked their teacher for advice, she said they needed to work on their chakra control._

_"Control?" asked Naruto._

_"I remember that," added Ayame. "Their jonin sensei said that the amount of chakra they put into jutsus could heavily determine if they would be successful or not. Too little and the jutsu wouldn't work. Too much and it would probably backfire on them."_

_Naruto's face strained as he tried to put the pieces together. "So....you're saying I'm using too much chakra?"_

_Teuchi nodded. "It's a possibility."_

_"So how do I learn to control my chakra?"_

_"The jonin didn't say. However, I do remember several chunin talk about an exercise called 'tree walking' a lot. That may be one of them."_

_Naruto's eyes brightened, then began looking around. "I'm done with the dishes, pops. I just remembered that I forgot my homework back at the academy. Can I..."_

_"Yes, you can go ask Iruka how tree-walking works," Teuchi chuckled._

_In a flash, Naruto hopped over the counter and took off down the street._

* * *

**Flashback over.**

As Naruto put the final touches on they Yondaime's head, he thought back to that day he really did know that Iruka-sensei did care about Naruto. When he busted through the door, he caught his teacher grading papers, which all them went flying. When Iruka asked what Naruto wanted, he was very surprised that Naruto wanted to learn tree walking. It was too advance of an exercise for an academy student. But when Naruto explained why his henges weren't working, Iruka could see the logic in the boy's theory.

The teacher smiled and began to teach Naruto how tree-walking worked.

That's what technique Naruto was using now. It wasn't just trees. Naruto learned that he could stick to pretty much anything if applied chakra to the soles of his feet.

It was a lot safer than swinging from a rope.

Every since then, Iruka would come by the stand at least twice a week to eat and visit with Naruto. Outside the classroom, Naruto realized that Iruka had become an older brother to him.

With a wave of his brush, he put the final touches on the Hokage monument. The cries of the villagers became more outraged as he began walking to the top.

"Losers! You don't have what it takes to do something like this!" he yelled as he cheerfully waved at the villagers.

His roll as an outcast had not changed in the past six years. He was still overcharged for groceries, ninja tools, and clothes. In fact, he was wearing a cheap two piece orange jumpsuit that he got from a throwaway sale last year.

Teuchi and Ayame once took him shopping for clothes last month for the first time, but they just received the same treat as he did. The closest people he had to a family were kicked out of the store just for being with him.

So he decided to send the village a message. That one day, he will become Hokage and the villagers will begin to respect him. That one day, his face will be carved into the mountain.

Then, he suddenly got a brilliant idea.

"Lord Hokage! Lord Hokage! It's terrible!"

The Sandaime sighed, but did not turn away from the painting he was working on. "What has Naruto done now?"

The chunin was stood in shock at the Hokage's correct question.

"How did you know sir?"

"Because I recognize that tone when that boy's done something?" said the Third_. And that tone the guy uses always makes him sound like a whiny little bitch._ "So what's the boy done?"

"He's decorating the Hokage moment sir. With paint!" said the chunin.

"Let's go see then," sighed the Hokage as he grabbed his hat. He kept the brim down over his face so the chunin wouldn't see the smirk on his face.

_I can't wait to see what he's done now. It's going to be good_.

* * *

"The horror! This is the final straw!" said the chunin as followed his leader to the roof. When two got to the top of the tower, Naruto had just added his final mark to the mountain. Below, many of the villagers were voicing the chunin's reaction.

The Sandaime, however, thought it was funniest thing in the world.

The First Hokage's head was painted with black paint. The eyes were painted with knockout-X eyes, had swirls on his cheeks that made him look like an Akimichi, and had a beard painted along his chin. Including a little goatee in front of his bottom lip.

The Second Hokage's head was painted with blue and white paint. His spiky hair was painted with blue tips, but painted white. His eyes were painted white with little half-blue circles to give the impression he was looking up. The final touch was that his lips were blue as well.

The Third Hokage's head had green and white. His hair and beard was painted in green and had white lines running from the corners of his eyes, making him look like he was crying. To top it off, the eyes were painted white with green pupils. However, they made him look cross-eyed.

The Fourth Hokage's head was yellow and red. The hair was painted yellow as were the eyes with red pupils. There were also red drops hanging from his nose that made it look like he had a nosebleed.

But that wasn't even the most noticeable item on the mountain. Right beside the Yondaime's head, on a good chunk of rock, was a head drawing. The drawing was the size of the others, but was made up of black, yellow, and blue paint. The black paint outlined a head, eyes, spiky hair, and a nose. The hair had bright yellow paint on the inside of the lines with blue paint in the eyes.

The final touch was there was a smirk painted on along with whisker marks on the cheeks. That made the Hokage chuckle.

_Not bad. Not bad at all._

"I can't watch anymore," said the chunin as he sushined away.

"Wuss," said the Hokage as he went back to admiring the boy's work. A moment later, Iruka shushined beside him.

"Lord Hokage, I can't apologize enough. I'll make sure he cleans it up later," Iruka said breathlessly.

"Ah, Iruka. Yes, that would be a sufficient enough punishment. But before you take him back to class, I have a couple of questions to ask."

"Yes, Lord?"

"First, how does is head look on the monument?"

Iruka was speechless for a moment. Then, a smile spread across his face.

"Like it belongs up there," Iruka answered.

"Good. Next question: my eyes are not that crooked, are they?"

* * *

"Aw, come on. You've got admit it was a nice touch!" Naruto complained to his sensei. Currently, the young ninja was tied up on the floor of his academy classroom.

"Naruto you can't keep screwing around like this! Your graduation ceremony is tomorrow and you have yet to make a successful henge, kawarmi, or clone jutsu! You've failed the last two years here, so it's time for you to grow up!"

Naruto scoffed and turned his head away. The times he failed was not his fault.

A tick mark appeared above Iruka's head as he spun towards his class. "Fine. Since Naruto doesn't seem to care, we'll be reviewing the henge transformation!"

Everyone in the class groaned. A few even threw papers and pencils at Naruto.

One by one, Naruto's classmates walked to the front of the class to perform a henge of their teacher. So far, each one had been success.

"All right Naruto, it's your turn," Iruka said.

Naruto tried to hide a grin on his face as was about to bust out his new secret weapon. He focused his chakra into his handsigns and focused on the mental image.

"Transform!" he yelled. There was a puff of smoke, which quickly cleared.

And Iruka felt his jaw drop. Standing in front of him was....

A perfect copy of himself.

"What do you think, Iruka-sensei?" said Naruto in an exact copy of Iruka's voice.

"Wow, Naruto. This is your first time I ever seen you do a perfect henge."

"Great. Now watch this one!" Naruto put his hands together again. There was another puff of smoke and Iruka's eyes widened in surprise.

Standing in front of him was a buxom blonde girl, completely naked with only pink smoke covering her most private parts. She smiled coyly at Iruka and gave him a wink.

That was enough to shut down Iruka's brain and cause him to blowback with a nosebleed.

Another puff of smoke and Naruto was on ground, normal and laughing his ass off.

"What did you think of my Sexy jutsu, Iruka-sensei?"

Despite the amount of blood he lost, Iruka was back on his feet with plugs in his nose.

"Cut the tricks! This is your last warning!"

* * *

Later that day, Naruto and Iruka were on top of the Hokage monument. Iruka pushed a bucket, several rags, a mop, and a brush into Naruto's hands.

"You're not leaving until every scrap of paint is cleaned off this monument," said Iruka.

"But I got to get to work in an hour," complained Naruto.

"You should have though of that before you decided to make you mark in this village. Honestly, what were you thinking?"

Naruto stood tall and puffed out his chest. "I was sending a message to the village. That one day, I'll be Hokage and when I do, the village will respect me and my friends."

Iruka immediately knew what he meant. Teuchi told him what happened last month and how badly it affected Naruto. There was a sudden drop in his grades and he spent most of the time with a scowl on his face and just staring off into space.

"Naruto, that wasn't your fault," Iruka said.

"Why, though?" Naruto asked. "Why is it they hate me, niisan?"

Big Brother. That's what Naruto called Iruka when there was no people around. Their friendship had developed in the past few years outside of the classroom. Iruka had become one of the few people that Naruto trusted.

"Don't listen to them, Naruto. You have never done anything to deserve their hatred," said Iruka. He put a hand on his little brother's shoulders. "You are who you are. Don't ever stop believing that."

The blond smiled. "Thanks, niisan."

Iruka grinned. "Good. Now get to work." Iruka then sat down and pulled a book from his pocket. "If you are correct, you know only got 55 minutes before you have to go to work."

Naruto stood there for a moment with his mouth agape. He then shook his head. "Jerk."

* * *

About an hour and half later, Naruto was walking down the street while rubbing his sore shoulder. It was the late afternoon and the shops around him were preparing to close down. All around him, people were finishing up their shopping and walking home. When he caught people glancing at him, they would scowl and turn away, muttering about his latest prank and how he should have been arrested.

Naruto ignored them and kept walking. Luckily, he thought ahead and water-based paint to use on the monument, so he was done quicker than usual.

He finally reached Ichiraku's and lifted up the curtain to walk inside.

"All hail, the Fifth Hokage!" said a group of voices. Naruto blinked and saw that Teuchi, Ayame and his only three friends bowing in his presence.

His good friend, Choji Akimichi was sitting in the middle of the trio, a bowl of ramen in his hand as he slurped up the remaining noodles. The two met about three years ago, when Naruto got out of his first day at day at the academy. He came back to Ichiraku's to see two boys at the counter, eating ramen. One was Choji and had already knocked down ten bowls and kept on going while his friend watched in disbelief. Naruto sat down beside him and told Ichiraku to give him what the boy was having. Choji looked up and said that he was an Akimichi and Naruto had no chance of beating him at eating. However, Naruto caught up to him quickly and before they knew, Naruto had actually beat an Akimichi in an eating contest.

Choji swore that day that Naruto would always his rival when it came to eating.

On Choji's left was another good friend, Shikamaru Nara. He was with Choji that day and had become good friends with the round boy a few days before. At first, Naruto and Shikamaru didn't get along. But when Naruto helped defend Choji from a couple of punks who were making fun of his weight, Shikamaru had began to see Naruto in a new light. Since then, Choji and Shikamaru would visit Naruto everyday at the stand when the academy was done for the day. And although he said it was 'troublesome' to visit him everyday, he did with a smile.

The last person had just join their group last year. Her name was Hinata Hyuga. She was a very shy girl, who only spoke in class when she was called upon by the teacher to answer. Naruto met her when he was serving meals to his friends when he spotted a girl peeking around from a telephone pole across the street. He watched her for a few minutes, before he finally waved her over. She blushed furiously and slowly made her way to the stand. Naruto finally recognized her from his class and introduced himself and his friends to her. It took her a while to break out of her shell, but soon, she was almost able to make complete sentences without stuttering.

Hinata was Naruto's only sparring partner when he went to train after work. Shikamaru said it was too troublesome to train and Choji often just watched instead of joining them. But the two would always support Hinata and Naruto.

Everyday after class, the four would go to Naruto's training field to train. Hinata would help Naruto with his taijutsu, which everyone except Naruto knew was horrible, while Naruto helped Hinata build more confidence in her fighting. It took a few months, but now, Naruto could go toe-to-toe with anyone in his class. Hinata had also become one the top konouchis of the class, tying Sakara Haranou for first place.

When he didn't think it was troublesome, Shikamaru would help Naruto with his chakra control. As a clan heir, his was required by his dad to learn all of their clan's shadow-type jutsus, so he had to learn chakra control earlier than most students. Naruto had already mastered the tree-walking exercise, so Shikamaru showed him the next step: water-walking. Naruto had not quite mastered this exercise, but he was getting better.

Choji, well.....,Choji was happy to help out with whatever he could. It wasn't much, but Naruto appreciated it all the same.

With their help, Naruto rose in the class standings. Not exactly at the top, like Sasuke Uchiha or Kiba Inuzuka, but a good student nevertheless.

All of the time he could spend was with his friends. Whether it was training, eating at the ramen stand, or just watching clouds. They were always together.

Naruto just smiled, walked behind the counter, and tied an apron around his waist.

"It's a good thing everyone here recognizes greatness when they see it," said Naruto. This caused everyone to laugh in their bowls.

"While it was good prank, Naruto-sempai, should you waste such time when you should be preparing for the finals tomorrow," said Hinata as she pressed her fingers together.

"Yeah, that's right," Choji agreed. "You've failed the test twice so far."

"It would be real troublesome to repeat for a third time," finished Shikamaru.

Naruto sighed. They were right. He was supposed to have graduated twice. This made him one of the oldest students in his class. He was only a year older than his friends.

But it really wasn't his fault that he failed. The first time he was supposed to take his test, Ayame got sick that morning with the flu. With Teuchi being shorthanded, Naruto skipped his test to help him out. It took ages for him to finally get a window and visit Iruka to see if you could retake the test. However, rules were rules and Naruto had to wait until the next semester.

The second time, he knew he was ready. He spent the whole week training, studying, and practicing for the test. But, by some accident or not, on the day of the test, Irchiraku's stand was damaged by a fire. When he arrived for breakfast, he saw Teuchi and Ayame standing in the streets beside a blackened, smoking stand while ANBU searched for the cause. When he asked Teuchi what happened, the man said he must have left the burner on.

But Naruto always believed the fire was caused by an arsonist. One who didn't want a demon in the stand and burnt it down to send a message to its owners.

Teuchi told Naruto that he shouldn't worry about it and he needed to go to the academy. Naruto refused and spent the day helping the Ichiraku's salvaging what they could from their stand.

"Well, let's hope lighting won't strike a third time," said Teuchi as he clapped Naruto on the shoulder. "Don't worry, kids. Naruto will be there tomorrow. And when all four of you arrive here with your new handbands tomorrow, I'll give a bowl on the house."

Naruto and Choji cheered while Hinata smiled and Shikamaru just shook his head. But he did so with a grin.

* * *

Naruto waved goodbye to his friends as they went home for the evening. They had spent the evening discussing what might be on the test tomorrow, all of them giving tips for each other. Naruto had to thank Kami for all of their help. Without his friends, he would have probably never had been the ninja he was today.

As he cleaned off the counters, he spotted Teuchi's record book sticking out of the cabinet behind the safe box. Curious, Naruto pulled the book out and opened it from the middle. His eyes grew wide he read the amount Ichiraku's stand had as the numbers kept getting lower and lower. Then he reached the profits from this year.

There were none. Throughout the year, there was nothing but red marks and slashes. It looked like a badly drawn doodle by a three-year-old with a red crayon.

"Hey, Naruto! Have you seen where we put the extra box of fishcakes?"

Naruto closed the book and stuffed it quickly back in the cabinet. "Yeah, it's under the box of miso ingredients!"

There was a nauseous feeling coming from his stomach. Naruto knew that he was the cause of all the Ichiraku's misfortunes. He and his friends were pretty much the only customers they had these days. And yet, they had never complained.

_What should I do?_ He thought.

"Hey, is everything ok?" Ayame asked as she came from the back.

Naruto put up a quick, fake smile. "Everything alright. Believe it."

* * *

Naruto pulled down the metal shutter and locked it with his very own key. He grabbed his bag from the ground and turned to the Ichiraku's, who were waiting nearby.

"Well, good luck tomorrow," said Teuchi. "Let's hope nothing bad happens this time."

Naruto frowned and looked at his feet. "If something happens, I'll just skip my test again and come to help. I don't care what happens."

"No," Teuchi said sternly. Naruto looked up in shock. The only time he heard Teuchi used that tone was chasing out customers.

"I don't care what happens tomorrow. I want you to be at the academy, on time, and ready to take your test."

"But-"

"That's final!" Teuchi yelled. Naruto jumped back, scared. When Teuchi saw this, he calmed down and knelt on one knee.

"Naruto, you're a ninja. This is what you were born to do, not become a ramen cook. Your destined to become our Hokage and you can't do that if you keep hanging around here."

"But I love it here," Naruto argued.

Teuchi felt his heart tug at that comment. He loved the boy like he was his own son, but he sure had a real thick head.

"Hey, I didn't say quit hanging out with us permanently. Even a Hokage needs a break now and again. In fact, after your art display earlier, the Sandaime was here laughing about it."

Naruto's eyes went wide. "The old man was here? He actually escaped his secretary and paperwork?"

Teuchi laughed and nodded. Besides Naruto and his friends, the Third was a regular customer in here as well

* * *

**Flashback: Naruto age 7**

_Teuchi was wondering where his newest customer was when he heard his excited voice outside the curtain. He seemed to be talking to someone about how this was the greatest place with the best food._

_Imagine his surprise when Naruto pulled none other than the Third Hokage through curtains and into his stand._

_"Lord Hokage," stuttered Teuchi. He quickly bowed. "Your honor me with your presence." _

_Ayame just stood still, shocked that her future fiancé was friends with the leader of their village._

_"See, Jiji, here we are," piped the small blonde. "That's Teuchi and Ayame! They're my best friends and serve the best ramen!"_

_Teuchi was shocked that Naruto addressed the Sandaime in such a way. He was even more shocked when the man laughed and sat in a seat._

_"Well, we'll just have to see about that," said the Third. "I'll have bowl of barbeque flavor ramen with beef chunks, please?"_

_"And I'll have the miso, sir!" added Naruto._

_Teuchi and Ayame were frozen for a moment before finally snapping back to reality and worked on their orders. When they were finished cooking, Teuchi pushed the bowls forward with shaky hands._

_After a while though, the Ichiraku's began to relax and laugh along with the Naruto and the Sandaime. Naruto went on and on about how mad his teacher was when he pulled the old Snakes-in-a-drawer trick in class today. Instead of berating the boy for his mischief, the Hokage chuckled at the antics the boy was making. _

_Then, the Hokage wowed all three of them with his stories about his past battles during the Ninja wars. All this time, Naruto knew what a great ninja the Hokage was, but it never ceased to amaze him how strong his idol could be._

_When they finished, the Hokage pushed his bowl back and fished some money out of his pocket. "Naruto, why don't you and your friend Ayame go get some ice cream?"_

_Naruto brightened and grabbed the money from his hand. "Sure thing, Jiji. Come on, Ayame!"_

_Ayame looked at her father, who smiled and nodded. She pulled off her apron and followed Naruto out into the street, where the duo broke off into a run to the stand just a few blocks down._

_When they were gone, the smile left the Sandaime's face. He turned to Teuchi with a calculating look._

_"Why are you helping him?" asked the Third. "You know what he contains, don't you?"_

_Teuchi swallowed and nodded. "Yes, I do. And I don't care."_

_This answer caused the Third's eyebrows to rise to his hairline. "Oh? And why is that?"_

_Teuchi took a deep breath. "Because he is not what everybody thinks he his. I had to witness his treatment by other villagers myself just yesterday. In my very own stand, nonetheless. And when I looked at Naruto, I didn't see a demon as the villagers called him. I saw a boy with no friends or family. A boy that has been an outcast for something he never did. Just a child, no demon."_

_Teuchi stood tall and finished his speech. "And I'll do what I can to see that he remains safe." _

_For several long minutes, the Third just started unblinkly at Teuchi. Then, a smile blossomed over the old man's face and a single tear rolled down his eye._

_"For the longest time, I've tried everything I can to keep Naruto safe and happy. But no matter how hard I try, something keeps hammering him down."_

_"Now, I've seen that Naruto has made more friends by just being himself."_

_The Hokage slid out of his chair and bowed to Teuchi. "Thank you for being his friend."_

_Teuchi's jaw dropped. Here, the strongest ninja in Konoha, was bowing to him, a ramen cook. _

_"Please, Hokage-sama, there's no need to-"_

_The Sandaime chuckled and sat back down. "We're friends now, Teuchi. Hiruzen will be ok. Just as long as it's here."_

_Before Teuchi could say anything, Naruto and Ayame just returned._

_"Hey, Jiji! So how did you like the ramen?" Naruto asked. His mouth was smeared from the chocolate ice cream bar in his hand._

_"It was great, Naruto. I'm going to have to come back here more often," smiled the Third. "But sadly, I must go face my greatest enemy."_

_Naruto's eyes lit up and began to hop up and down. "You're going to fight, Jiji? Who? Some warlord or evil emperor?"_

_The Third smiled. "Yep. Paperwork."_

* * *

**Flashback ends**

With running a stand full-time, the Third had become one of Teuchi's only friends. It seems the stand was the key to all of the building friendships when Naruto was envolved.

"Yes, the Third was here. And he wants you to pass even more than I do," Teuchi said.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. He said he really needed someone to take over being Hokage and deal with all the paperwork he's got."

Naruto tried to scowl and smile at the same time, causing Teuchi to laugh and ruffle the boy's hair.

"Well, I better get going. Good luck tomorrow!" Teuchi said as he walked away.

Naruto waved the old man and walked up to Ayame. The girl had blossomed into a very beautiful young woman. Her hair had grown out longer and was still tied in a ponytail. She had grown taller as well. At sixteen, she stood a head higher than Naruto, who at thirteen, had not hit his growth spurt yet.

When they were younger, the two were always together. Any day off they had immediately was spent at the park, playing on the playground equipment or eating ice cream on a park bench. Since the day the Sandaime came to the stand, the two would always order a few ice cream bars on Sunday after work. The other kids avoided them, but Naruto didn't mind that anymore. He had someone to play with and that was better than anything.

One of the games they played was the marriage game. Ayame always pretended that Naruto was her husband and swore every time the played that when they were older, they would get married for real.

But as they got older, Ayame hit puberty and got the attention of other boys her own age. They would flirt with her while Naruto was at the academy and ask her on dates. She would sometimes oblige and spent her weekend nights on dates to the movies and other eateries besides a ramen stand.

Naruto grew with Ayame and knew there would be an age difference between the two. Since Naruto had no parents, Teuchi gave him the 'talk'(embarrassingly) and Naruto understood that Ayame was just growing up.

But that didn't stop him from keeping an eye on her from the shadows.

And with the lectures Iruka gave them in class, he understood that the life of a shinobi was a perilous one and took a toll on the spouses. One of the hardest things in life was to open a letter delivered by a courier ninja telling you your husband or wife died in the line of duty.

Naruto would never put Ayame in that position. She desereved to grow old and happy with a civilian, not lose sleep wondering if her husband was ever going to come home.

But, there would always be a part of him that will love her. No matter what happened.

"Good luck tomorrow, Naru-kun. Be sure to stop by tomorrow before you go to the academy," Ayame said.

"I will, Aya-chan," replied Naruto. "You and pops are going to come to my graduation tomorrow if I pass, right?"

"When you pass. I have no doubt in my mind you're going to pass tomorrow."

"And why is that?" Naruto asked.

"Because my future husband needs to be a genin before he can become Hokage," Ayame smiled.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Ayame, we're not ten and seven anymore. Besides, I thought you thought me as a brother, not a fiancé."

Ayame pouted. "Are you saying you don't won't to marry me?"

"No! I mean...uh..." Naruto stuttered and blushed.

The girl laughed and pulled Naruto into a hug. "Don't worry. You'll always be the one I care about the most. Even when I'm old and gray and wondering whether or not if it's Saturday or Wednesday."

"You're already halfway there," Naruto muttered.

Ayame mock gasped and ruffled his hair. "What did you say, Naru-kun?"

"Nothing! I was just saying goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Naruto," Ayame whispered as she pulled away. She bent down and pecked Naruto on the cheek. "And there is a good luck charm for tomorrow."

Naruto blushed harder, but smiled. "Thanks, Aya-chan."

The two teens waved to each other, then turned and walked to there homes. Each of them had a smile on their face.

* * *

In the shadows, a figure watched as the two interacted. He could see that they cared for one another and that made a perfect plan 'B'.

_If the brat doesn't fail tomorrow, I could always use the girl to get what I want._

* * *

Sorry about the wait. I planned on introducing Naruto's heritage in this chapter, but the more I kept writing, the more detailed of his life I wanted to get. I'll try to get the scroll chase in the next chapter.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to update the next one as soon as I can.


	3. Graduation and Discoveries

Wow. I only started this story at the beginning of the month and it all ready has more story alerts and favorites than double of that of my other stories. In just a short amount of time, this has become my most popular story.

Just to let everyone know, I'm only going to stick with the true canon in only a few scenes. Some parts are originally created. However, if another author had used them in their story, I apologize for using their moments.

I only hope I can continue to earn everyone's respect.

* * *

A continuous ringing in his ears finally woke Naruto from his sleep. His hand rose from beneath the covers and reached blindly for the accursed object. When he finally grabbed his alarm clock, he chucked it against the wall, where it shut off immediately.

Naruto groaned and pulled the covers from his head. He sat up, stretched, and made his made way to the bathroom. He performed the morning-male ritual of scratching himself and taking a long time in front of the toilet. After a shower, he went into the kitchen, made himself some breakfast, and got ready for his genin finals at the academy today.

He dressed in his usual jumpsuit. The color was originally red, but time had faded it to orange. The boy bought it cheap at a hand-me-down sale at one of open-markets. It was one of the reasons why Teuchi and Ayame wanted to take him clothes shopping. They didn't want him to dress like this.

Naruto then put on a pair of goggles he got as a birthday present. It is originally a gag gift, due to an incident a few years ago when he was in the kitchen, experimenting with ingredients to create a new flavor. The whole thing blew up in his face. The Ichiraku's thought it was hilarious and bought him the goggles to give him a mad, scientist look when experimenting. But he carried it with him at all times.

He then strapped on his sandals, shuriken holder, and orange wristbands. Unlike his clothes and pretty much anything else he owned, these were brand new. They were gifts from his friends when he started his final year at the academy. When his friends saw the state of his equipment, they all pooled their money together and bought him new ones as a good luck gift.

Naruto finished getting dressed and walked out of his apartment. He locked his door and smiled.

"Look out, world. Naruto Uzumaki is coming for ya!" He ran down the stairs and towards the stand.

* * *

As Naruto neared the ramen stand, he spotted his friends waiting inside.

"Yo, Naruto!" Choji yelled as he spotted his friend running towards the stand. The chubby ninja was munching on a bag of chips. "Dad told me to tell you he liked the Akimichi swirls on the First's face yesterday." That made the group chuckle.

"Hmph....Good morning" Shikamaru grumbled with a small smile.

"G-good morning, sempai," Hinata said with a grin.

"Good morning, guys!" Naruto yelled. "You guys ready to become ninja's?"

Choji was the only one who cheered with him, while Shikimaru chuckled and Hinata giggled.

"Naruto, it's eight in the morning," Shikamaru muttered. "Can't you keep it down at least until noon?"

"Nope!" Naruto cheered. "Today's going to be my first step to becoming Hokage!"

"You've got to pass first," said a voice behind the counter. Teuchi and Ayame came out from the back room carrying the ingredients to start the day off.

"You don't think we can pass, pops?" Naruto asked in a mock-hurt voice.

"I have no doubt in my mine that you four can pass," said Teuchi with a grin. "In fact, when you do, we'll have a party here tonight celebrating your graduation. All the ramen you can eat instead of one free bowl!"

Choji roared with delight and fire in his eyes. Shikamara muttered 'troublesome' and tried to calm his friend down. Hinata just giggled at Choji's antics.

Naruto, however, frowned. He remembered seeing Teuchi's balance book last night and all the red marks in it. He wasn't that great at math, but he know that Teuchi was becoming in debt to his landlord and getting loans from the bank just to pay for more ingredients. If it kept up, he'll have to close the shop within two months.

"Naru-kun, is something wrong?" Ayame asked.

"Huh..wah?"

"Dad mentioned free ramen and you were frowning? Is something wrong?"

Naruto shook his head and put a fake smile. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with free ramen."

Teuchi let out a breath. "Good. I was beginning to wonder if someone replaced Naruto with a spy."

"Hey!" yelled Naruto, insulted.

Everyone laughed. Then Teuchi looked at his clock on the wall. "You kids better get going, class will be starting soon."

"Gotcha," said Choji as finished his bag of barbeque chips. He jumped off the stool and began to walk towards the academy. Shikamaru stifled a yawn and followed. Hinata slid off the stool, bowed to the Ichiraku's and followed Shikamaru. Naruto was about to leave himself when something grabbed his shoulder. He turned to see that Ayame had gone around the counter to see him.

"Good luck today, Naru-kun," she said as she hugged him. Teuchi had 'mysteriously' gone back into the back room.

"Thanks, Aya-chan. I'll be sure to make you and pops proud today."

Ayame bent down slightly and kissed Naruto's forehead. "There. Another good luck charm. With two, you can't fail."

Naruto grinned. "I won't fail. Believe it!" He turned and shot down the street to catch up with his friends.

* * *

Naruto and his friends were sitting in the desks at the front of the class. While they waited for their teachers to arrive, Naruto and Hinata were discussing what they were going to be tested on along with Choji, who munched on another bag of chips. Shikamaru..well.....was catching up on his sleep.

Everyone quieted down when Iruka and Mizuki walked in.

"Alright class. Today is the day," Iruka announced. "We've already tested your field ninja skills throughout the semester and everyone here has passed. Now, me and Mizuki will be testing your ninjutsu abilities, one-on-one."

Naruto nodded, anxious to begin his test. After being absent for the last two, he couldn't wait to get started. He knew he could take whatever his teachers could give him.

"When we call your name, you will proceed into the next room and perform your ninjutsu techniques there in front of your teachers. Remember, you must perform the three basic ninjutsu techniques: A henge transformation, a substitution jutsu and finally, a clone jutsu. Good luck. First up, Shino Aburame."

A tall boy with a high-collar jacket, sunglasses and spiked hair silently stood up and made his way down the steps to his teacher. Naruto knew Shino was going to pass. As a heir to his clan, Shino was taught his clan's more advance jutsus. He an above average taijutsu fighter and could perform the basic ninjutsu. His main weapons were his family's kikia bugs, chakra-eating insects the live in the boy's body like a hive.

Naruto never had any problems with Shino, but never took the time the talk with the boy either. Maybe when this was over, he could say congratulations.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Shino walked back into the classroom with his new leaf headband around his forehead.

"Great job, Shino," Naruto said as he walked passed him and his friends.

Shino paused for a moment before nodding. "Thank you. Good luck on your test as well."

Naruto smiled and waited for the next name to be called, which happened to be Choji.

"Remember Choji, all the ramen you can eat if you pass," Naruto mentioned.

"I know," Choji said with fire in his eyes. "The power of food will always prevail!" Naruto and Hinata just laughed as he scared the daylights out of Iruka. A few minutes later, Choji came out with his headband around his head. This got him pats on the backs from the boys and a hug from Hinata.

Next was Sakura Haruno. When her name was called, all she did was jump up and proclaim that true love will concur all. Then she rubbed it in all the girl's faces that a certain boy will be hers.

Frankly, Naruto couldn't understand why someone like her could be a ninja. Sure, she had book smarts, but it took more than that to become an excellent kunoichi.

In fact, a lot of girls in the class were focused on only impressing their love interests instead of actually learning. Except Hinata, of course.

It just proved that destiny must be up to something when the pink-haired girl walked back into the classroom with her headband tied where her ribbon used to be and a smug look on her face.

Next was Hinata Hyuga, who froze when her name was called. Her friends were trying to help with her confidence problems and she was getting better, but their were times when she would hesitate in believing in her abilities. It wasn't helpful that her family didn't care about her either.

Naruto, however, put a hand on her shoulder and told her to give it her best shot. Choji encouraged her as well while Shikamaru lifted his head up just enough to wish her luck. With that, Hinata took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

Even though he tried to be strong for her, he couldn't help but bite his lip and tap his fingers on the desk. But that changed when Hinata walked back in with her headband around her neck and a smile on her face. Naruto got up and gave her a quick hug, then returned to his seat. He never noticed the blush on her face.

Next was Kiba Inuzuka. The boy with the fur-lined hoodie jumped up and howled in anticipation. While some people had book smarts, Kiba had the athletic ability to make a great ninja. He was brash and wild in his techniques, but could think and strategize like any ninja.

A member of the Inuzuka clan, he was capable of using a specially-trained ninja hound called a ninken. His was a young pup with white fur named Akamaru. They duo dominated the training spars, only behind Sasuke Uchiha. And apparently only Kiba could understand him because the two would hold conversations when no one would have any idea what they were talking about.

It was no surprise when he came back in with his new headband and a smirk

The were a few more students who passed during that time, but Naruto didn't know them well enough to really care. It wasn't until Iruka reached Shikamaru that he finally paid attention to the roll call. Naruto had to wake up the lazy genius for his turn. The boy got up and followed Iruka out of the room, muttering troublesome the entire way.

Naruto wasn't worried about Shikamaru. Even though he didn't show it in class, Shikamaru had more talent than pretty much anyone in the class, possibly in Sasuke. The problem was that Shikamaru didn't really care.

Naruto was surprised when the boy came back with the headband tied around his arm. When he rose an eyebrow at the boy, he just shrugged.

"Too troublesome to tie around my head," was the only thing Shikamaru said as he laid his head back down on the desk.

"Everything's too troublesome for you," Naruto said, causing everyone around him to laugh.

There was another batch of students that went next that Naruto didn't know either because they treated him like everyone else or didn't even bother. But each one recieved their mark as well.

Then came the kid was marked as the best in the class. When Sasuke Uchiha's name was called, all the girls in the class wished him good luck. He just ignored them and made his way to the next room. It surprised no one when he came out with his headband around his head.

"Show-off," Naruto muttered.

Hinata giggled. "You're not mad because he's the top in his class, are you?"

"No. It's that he's got the power to get any girl in the class, and yet, he just scoffs it off like he's king of the world. Why if I had that power, I-"

"You what, senpai?" Hinata said with a hint of anger.

"I..uh...donate it to charity?" he said meekly.

Hinata punched him in the shoulder. "Pig."

"Naruto Uzumaki," said Iruka to the class.

Naruto took a deep breath and stood up, barely hearing the wishes of luck from his friend. He followed Iruka towards the testing room and inside.

It was about the size of a regular classroom with only a desk on one side of the room. Mizuki was already sitting down at one of the chairs while Iruka took the other one.

"Okay, Naruto, take a few breaths and begin whenever you are ready. The first jutsu I want you to perform is the Transformation jutsu. I want you to henge into someone beside me or Mizuki." Then he scowled. "And your you-know-what henge is forbidden."

Naruto nodded and put his hands together in the ram seal. He channeled his chakra throughout his body, thought of his subject and focused.

"Transform," he called out. Naruto was surrounded in a puff of smoke, which reavealed to be a perfect henge of the Third Hokage in his robes and hat, pipe included in his mouth.

"Very good, Naruto," said Iruka while Mizuki just nodded. "Nice you see you finally get it down after what happened a few years ago."

"Thanks for reminding me, Iruka-sensei," Naruto mumbled.

"Next." Iruka sat up and put his chair in the middle of the floor. "I want you to perform the Substitution jutsu with this chair."

Naruto nodded and prepared his chakra. This jutsu was one of his favorites since he used quite often when running away from teachers and chunin who were trying to catch him after one of his pranks. It was real funny when he switched with a chair, log or even a person just for his pursuers to crash into it.

So Naruto focused his his chakra into a thin string, invisible except to the Hyuga, and connected it to the chair. He then flared his chakra, causing the two to be enveloped in smoke. When it cleared, Naruto and chair had switched places.

"Excellent, Naruto. That's two out of three," said Iruka. Mizuki nodded and made another check on his clipboard. "Now, for the final test. I need you make at least three clone jutsus."

This is where Naruto began to get nervous. For all of his time, he couldn't make a perfect clone jutsu. During his first years in the academy, he couldn't even perform at all. As time went by, he began to get better at the jutsu, but each clone would either disrupt as soon as it appeared or would be very haggard and sick-looking.

However, when Naruto learned about the tree-walking exercise, he saw little improvement in his clones. They still looked feeble, but at least they could stand on their own two feet. When he mastered that exercise and began using the water exercise, he tried again. And once again, he saw improvement.

But it still wasn't perfect.

"Naruto?" Iruka asked.

Naruto snapped out of his stupor and grinned. "Sorry sensei. Just thinking about a strategy."

"Hurry up please. We still have other students to test," Mizuki said.

"He's right Naruto. Cast your jutsu now," agreed Iruka.

Naruto nodded and prepared his chakra. Remember his lesson long ago, he tried to channel the least amount of chakra as he could. So small, that he only had to think about channeling his chakra. And instead of three, he had to think more.

He hasn't tested this theory yet, so he was taking a gamble.

"Clone jutsu!" he yelled. The room was enveloped in smoke and Naruto closed his eyes, hoping, praying that his theory worked. He kept his eyes close for nearly ten seconds before Iruka finally said something.

"Uh, Naruto? I said you had to make at least three. You didn't have to make twenty."

Naruto opened his eyes, only see two clones blocking his vision to his senseis. He looked to find himself surrounded by clones. Each one was an exact replica of himself and stood straight ahead at the wall. They looked perfect.

But then Naruto saw one of them grimace and buckle slightly. Maybe they weren't perfect just yet, but it was better than nothing. He dispelled his clones before any of the other ones showed signs of fatigue and give Iruka a reason to fail him.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei," smiled Naruto as the smoke disappeared. He could feel a swell of happiness rising within him like a balloon. Now, he was an official genin.

Iruka handed him his new headband. Naruto took and just took a second to gaze at it. The Konoha's leaf symbol was carved onto a polished metal plate that was sewn into a dark, blue bandana.

Naruto took off his googles and wrapped his new headband around his head. He saw Iruka give him a smile as they walked out of the room.

The moment his friends saw him with his newest addition, all three of them gave him a smiled. Shikamaru actually stood awake long enough to see Naruto with his headband, only to lay back down to sleep, although he had a grin on his face. Hinata sprang up from her seat and gave her sempai a tight hug that nearly cut off his circulation. After she was done, Choji got around and put him in a headlock will giving him a noogie.

"Told you were going to do it!," yelled Choji while he dug his knuckle into Naruto's head.

"Believe it!" Naruto yelled as he tried to escape Choji's lock.

"All right, settle down," Iruka said. "We still have a few more students to test so please, return to your seats."

The adrenaline coursing through Naruto's veins was enough to make him feel like he could take on an army of ninja, but he sat down. His foot kept tapping against the ground as each student went to the back and earned their headbands.

Finally, the last student tested walked out of the room. Ino Yamanaka came with a huge smirk aimed at Sakura and for some reason, had tied her headband around her waist. Naruto believed she did only to prove how skinny she was. He always took her for one of those girls that only cared about what she looked like instead of how she looked.

Iruka and Mizuki walked out the room with her and stood before the class.

"Congratulations, graduates. You have all earned to the right to be called ninjas of the Leaf. You've become warriors to the village and it's Hokage. Remember, you're adults now and as such, have hopefully matured enough to know that your life is going to be on line everyday," lectured Iruka.

"As ninjas, you must be prepared to face obstacle, no matter how impossible or dangerous," continued Mizuki. "You never know when the village will call your service. One day, you might be training. The next, you may be facing an invasion, an army, or even demon."

The whole class shuddered. Each one had heard the story about when the Nine-tailed demon fox attacked Konoha thirteen years ago. For no reason, the giant demon, one who could flatten mountains and create tidal waves, all by just waving its tails, appeared outside the village of Konoha. It tried to attack the village, but was held at the gates by Konoha ninjas. The fox proved to be too strong, killing dozens of ninjas.

But what when all hope seemed lost, the Fourth Hokage face the demon in mortal combat. No one knows how, but the Fourth was able to defeat the creature.

However, it cost the man his life.

Naruto had always wanted to be like that. To face hell itself for the sake of protecting all of those he loved. The Fourth Hokage had been considered the greatest ninja that the world had ever seen and one that the world might not see again.

That's what Naruto wanted to be. The most powerful Hokage in the world, just like the Fourth.

"Now," Iruka said, breaking Naruto from his trance. "We'll continue this next week when we put you in teams with you jonin teachers. Right now, I believe your parent's are waiting outside to wish you congratulations."

* * *

The new genins cheered and got up to meet their parents. All except one, who slowly got up and followed his classmates out. In the hallway, the class turned left to go out the front while Naruto turned left to head out the back.

Naruto's plan was to just head to Ichiraku's and wait for his friends to get done celebrating with their families. He doubt he could handle the whispers of the villagers as he walked past them.

But he barely took two steps before a hand grabbed his shoulder. Naruto turned around to find Iruka with a confused look.

"Where are you going?" asked his teacher.

"You said everyone's families are waiting for them outside," said Naruto glumly. "I don't exactly belong out there."

Iruka put a hand on his brother's shoulder, causing the blonde to look up.

"But I think you'll find something just as good waiting for you out there."

Naruto frowned, but turned around and headed back towards his classmates. He curious about what Iruka meant.

* * *

A man was hoping across the rooftops to his previously planned location to lay his trap.

_Plan 'B', it is._

* * *

Naruto walked out the front doors to see a crowd of parents praising their children for their accomplishments. He could feel his chest tighten in pain and jealousy at the love between family. It was the one thing he wanted, yet he had no one to share it with.

Choji was standing with his parents, who were standing with the Nara and Yamanaka clans as well. Shikamaru was yawning while being berated by his mother for being lazy. His father, Shikaku, just stood by and watched a smirk. Inoichi, Ino's dad, was talking with his wife while Ino, their daughter, was missing. When the three clan leaders saw him, they waved.

Naruto grinned and waved back. He always liked them. Since he was friends with their children, they treated him like anybody else.

Shino was holding a quiet conversation with his parents, while Naruto noticed that his family was given a wide berth. It ticked him off that people were avoiding them just because of their jutsu styles. Personally, he saw nothing wrong with their clan's styles. They were normal like any other family.

Kiba was boasting loudly about his tests being a walk in the park while his sister, Hana smacked him in the back of the head. His mom, Tsume, was laughing at her pups antics and told Kiba that she would show him a new jutsu as a graduation present.

Hinata was blushing slightly as she spoke with her father, Hiashi. He was wishing her congratulations, but then starting telling her that she might begin to show improvements once she was sorted onto a team. Naruto saw Hinata's face fell at that.

Naruto almost growled. He and his friends spent nearly a year trying to get her confidence up and her father berates her. It really ticked him off.

Since Sasuke was the only member of his clan left, he didn't have anybody to wish him congratulations. Well, except the girls who had a crush on him. In fact, they were still saying how cool he was as he tried to return back to his family's compound. Several girls trailed behind, including Sakura and the missing Ino.

He shook his head and continued to walk out of the school yard. But he felt himself cringe at the words of others as he walked by.

"There he goes.....

"He actually passed?"

"...isn't that the freak.."

"...monster's a genin now.."

With each insult, he could feel himself sink lower and lower into a depressed state. He thought that if he could prove himself to be a graduate, he would begin to earn respect. But that didn't seem to be the case.

Right now, he just wanted to get to the ramen stand. He hurried forward to the gate, almost home-free, when someone called out his name.

"Over here, Naruto," a soft voice called out.

The boy turned to see his three favorite people waiting under a tree. Ayame, Teuchi, and the Third Hokage.

Naruto smiled and hurried over to his friends. "You actually came?"

The Third chuckled and engulfed the boy in a hug. "Of course. You didn't think I was going to miss my favorite gaki's graduation, did you?"

Naruto laughed, his spirit beginning to lift. "Thanks, Jiji. It's only natural that you would show up to see the next Hokage graduate."

The group laughed. Teuchi stepped forward and flicked his finger at Naruto's headband. "I've always wanted to see that on your head. Now, I think my goals in life are now complete."

"You cant mean that, pops. You still have to wait until I become Hokage."

"That I do," chuckled Teuchi.

Ayame then came forward and wrapped Naruto in a tight hug. "There was no doubt in my mind that you were going to pass," Ayame whispered to him.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and smirked shyly. "Well, with all the luck you gave me, how could I not."

Ayame giggled and blushed. Teuchi caught this and smirked.

"Is there something I should know about," he teased.

Both kids blushed and both shook their heads. Teuchi and Sarutobi chuckled at their obvious care for one another, even if they won't admit it.

The Third stopped first and turned towards the gate. "Well, I better get back to the tower. I still need to finish my work."

"You'll be back at the stand later for ramen, right?" Teuchi asked his friend.

"If I can, I'll try." The Third walked to the gate, but then turned to Naruto. "Can you walk with me?"

"Sure, Jiji," said Naruto. He turned to his friends. "I'll see you back at the stand."

"See you later, Naru-kun."

"Later, squirt!"

Naruto turned and hurried to catch up with the Third. As he left, Naruto's friends walked up to the Ichirakus.

"Were is senpai going?" asked Hinata.

"The Hokage wanted to speak with him. He'll meet with us back at the stand later," said Ayame.

"What a drag," Shikamaru complained. "Now we've got to wait on him."

"Come on, kids," Teuchi said. "I'll serve you a couple of snacks before he gets back."

"Yes!" Choji cheered. "Food!"

The five walked out of the school yard and into the streets. They were about to turn towards the stand when Ayame broke off and went into the other direction.

"I'm going to go buy some ice cream for you guys as dessert. Any special flavor you want?"

"Vanilla, please," said Hinata.

"Me, too," said Choji.

"Hmph. Sound's good, too," said Shikamaru.

"Bring me back a pint of mint, Ayame," said Teuchi.

"Sure thing, dad." Ayame began walking to the grocery store for ice cream.

* * *

"What makes a ninja strong, Naruto?" The Third asked the blond. The two made it to the tower a few minutes earlier and were now standing on top of the tower, watching the sunset. The two usually did this at least once a week, whenever they weren't at the ramen stand. Naruto usually came after school to learn more about what it meant to be Hokage.

"A strong shinobi? What kind of question is that? It's obvious that a shinobi needs strong jutsu in order to be strong. Only the fastest, strongest and most intelligent ninja become the greatest."

The Third chuckled. "Well, you almost right."

Naruto looked up at the old man with a raised eyebrow. "Almost?"

"It's true a ninja needs those three qualities to be strong, but your missing the most important quality of all. And believe it or not, you posses the quality more than any of your classmates."

"Really? What is it, Jiji?"

"The Will of Fire."

Naruto frowned. "The Will of Fire?"

The Third smiled at the confused boy. "Yes. Tell me Naruto, is there anybody that you would give your life to protect? A person you will fight with your last breath, the last ounce of your strength, to protect?"

Naruto thought for only a second before he answered. "Of course. Ayame, Teuchi, Iruka, Hinata, Choji, Shikamaru, and you, Jiji. You're my family and I will do all I can to see everyone I care about safe."

Sarutobi felt his heart swell at Naruto's words. "That Naruto is the Will of Fire. The heart and spirit to protect those who you care about. That's what the village means and they true meaning of being a shinobi."

"What about you, Jiji? What defines your Will of Fire?"

The Sandaime smiled and gazed out over the village. "My will is to protect everyone in this village. Each man, woman, and child is like a family member to me and it's my duty to protect them. With my strength, heart, spirit, and will, I'll protect each villager with my life. That's what it means to be a shinobi. That's what it means to be Hokage."

Naruto gazed in awe at the man he considered to be a grandfather. It just wasn't him, it was the whole village he cared about.

"I think I understand," said Naruto.

_But do I? Do I have the will to protect each villager who despise me with all their hearts?_

"I'm glad to here that, Naruto. Because tomorrow, I have a gift for you."

"A gift?"

"Yes. I was promised to give a gift when you turned into a genin. A gift from your parents."

Naruto felt himself stiffen. His parents? "You knew my parents, Jiji?"

The Sandaime sighed and gazed at the boy with sad eyes. "I know it's a bit of a shock, but yes, I did now your parents. I'm afraid due to certain circumstances, they had to be remained a secret from you. They were powerful and made a lot of enemies in different countries. If they knew you existed, you might not have lived to see today."

Naruto didn't say anything. He was still in shock. He always thought that his parent's just perished during the Kyubi attack, seeing he was born on the day it happened. He never thought about asking anyone about his parents.

He felt the Sandaime put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I kept this from you. But when you find out tomorrow, you'll understand why I kept it from you."

"Okay, Jiji," Naruto said with some sadness in his voice.

"Naruto, are you going to be ok?" the Third asked with sorrow.

To be honest, Naruto felt a little betrayed. The Hokage knew all this time who his parents were but didn't bother to tell him. But he knew the Third had a good reason for not telling him. And if it was his parent's wish that he wouldn't know about them until he became a genin, there must be a good reason.

Naruto smiled. "I'll be fine, Jiji. In fact, I can't wait to find out about them! I'll see you bright and earlier tomorrow morning!"

The Sandaime was shocked about Naruto's sudden switch from depressed to happy. But he smiled.

"Great. Then I'll see you tomorrow then! Sorry, but with as much paperwork as I got, there is no way I'm going to be able to get some ramen with you and your friends tonight."

"It's alright. Good-bye!" Naruto jumped from the building and ran down the side, using his tree-walking experience to stick to the wall. When he reached the ground, he made a beeline for the stand.

The Third watched the boy's progress with a smile. When he was out of sight, the smile disappeared.

_I just hope you can handle the truth, Naruto._

* * *

Ayame smiled brightly as she walked back to the stand with vanilla, mint, and Naruto's favorite, chocolate ice cream. The sun was about to go down and everybody was closing their shops. She had to hurry if she was going to make it back.

Since her mother passed away, she's been pretty much in charge of the woman needed around the house. She did the grocery shopping, the cleaning out of the house, and took care of her dad. Her mother's death affected him the most. For nearly three months, her father kept the ramen stand closed and spent all of his time in a depressed state. Only when Ayame threatened to move out, at age ten, did Teuchi do something.

Then, a week after they reopened stand, a small blonde changed their lives. Seeing him in a defenseless state, brought her father out of his depression and back to reality. Ever since Naruto came into their lives, the Ichiraku's have become a family once again.

Seeing how Naruto brought her father back, she immediately knew that he was something special. He did what he could to help around the stand and sometimes around their house. Naruto, besides being a ninja, was handy when it came to plumbing, electrical wiring, and other fix-it at home talents. Ayame thought it something to do with him living on his own.

And the fact Naruto never gave up, either in his studies or training, added to the list of his impressive abilities. He never backed down, never attacked anyone without cause, and always tried his hardest.

But nevertheless, she always thought the boy was more of a man than anybody else she knew. And that's why she would always love him.

She smiled at the thought of the blonde as she turned the corner of a street. She was less than a few blocks away from the stand when it happened.

Two arms wrapped around her waist. They knocked the bag from her hands. She tried to scream, but her captor had already shushined away. It happened so fast no one even heard her make a sound.

* * *

Naruto rushed through street towards the stand. He could feel his stomach growling in anticipation of another good meal. Even the glares the villagers around him would not put him into a bad mood.

Ever since he left the tower, he kept wondering what his parents were like. The Third had told him the pair were very strong ninjas.

_Maybe he'll have a picture of them._

When Naruto was a little kid, when the villagers treated him like an outcast, he prayed every night that his parents would come and help him. He wanted to be a normal kid, with a mom and dad, friends, and a nice home to live. Instead, he lived alone and was treated like a monster.

But when he met the Ichiraku's, his pain began to fade. Then, when he met Choji, Shikamaru, Hinata and Iruka he forgot about being lonely. But always wondered who his parents were.

By this time tomorrow, he was going to learn who his parents were. He picked up the pace to tell his friends the good news.

He rounded the corner and felt his foot hit something hard and...cold?

Naruto stopped and looked at the ground. There was a white sack with what looked liked a gallon of vanilla ice cream, a pint of mint, and half a gallon of chocolate. He picked up the pint and noticed it was still cold and had hardly softened.

_Who would leave ice cream in the middle of......wait, Hinata's favorite flavor is vanilla. Pops's is mint, and mine and Ayame's is chocolate._

Naruto looked around the area, trying to find out what happened. In seconds, he found two small, female size footprints in the dirt. Naruto took a breath. He trained in the academy to focus his senses and he could smell a slight hint of the strawberry-scented shampoo Ayame washed her hair with.

"Was Ayame-"

A faint whistling rung in his hears. He recognized it and ducked. There was a solid thunk in the garden wall above his head. Naruto stood to see a kunai embedded in the wall, just a few inches above his head. On closer inspection, he saw a note attached to it.

He yanked the kunai out of the wall and unwrapped the message. With each word he read, he felt his blood boil.

_Demon, I have your girlfriend. If you want her to live, steal the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage's office tonight and bring to the training grounds you spend your time at. You have one hour after the sun sets. Inform anybody about this and I'll send youf girlfriend back to you a piece at a time. _

Naruto's hands shook as he finished. One of the few people he cared about most in his life had been taken. Whoever this person was, they were going to pay, with full interest. Because now, Naruto knew this was the time his Will of Fire was going to burn.

He crumbled the note and looked the west. The sun wouldn't be down for at least another half hour.

He didn't have much time. And it was the perfect time to test out his new jutsu he didn't get to show Iruka.

* * *

Sarutobi had just sent the ANBU guards home, assuring them he would be okay. There had not been an attack on his life for nearly ten years. And frankly, he was tired of the guards watching him constantly as he did his work.

He got down with his latest stack of paperwork and was beginning to work on his final stack for the evening. If he hurried, he might catch the kids and Teuchi for one bowl before they went to sleep.

A thump outside of his door made him hesitate. He thought he was the only one in the building after the guards left

The Third stood up and walked to the door, kunai in his hand. He placed his hand on the doorknob and turned. Just as the door swung open into the hallway, Sarutobi felt a familiar presence of chakra and relaxed.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" asked the Third as he fully opened the door.

**"Ninja Art: Noodle bind jutsu!"**

The Third felt something hit against his chest, then wrap around his body. His arms were pinned to his sides. Then, another around his knees and his feet. The force caused him to lose his balance and fall to the floor.

The Hokage struggled against the bonds, shocked that Naruto would attack him and the durability of whatever he was tied up with. If it was ropes or even chains, he would have been out in an instant and prepared to fight. But whatever this substance was, it was strong, tight and only bound more tightly the more he struggled.

"Sorry, Jiji," said Naruto as he stood of the fallen man. Sarutobi looked up from the floor to see the boy with a small hint of anger, but it was mostly filled with remorse and fear.

"What are you-?" the Third started when something hit him in the mouth. It covered it completely and immediately sealed his ability to talk. It was exactly like the stuff he was trapped in. He then caught a whiff of it under his nose and his eyes widened in shock when he recognized it.

_Noodle dough?_

"It's my newest technique. I just made it about a month ago when I screwed up a batch of noodles," Naruto explained. "The dough was really thick and strong, but I couldn't do anything with it. Just for kicks, I kneaded my chakra with it to see if it would loosen up, but it didn't work. Then, some jerk came by the stand and started bad mouthing me. I got mad and threw the dough at him. What happened to him is just what happened to you."

Sarutobi was shocked that the boy would come up with such an unusual jutsu. Despite the situation, he felt a surge of pride at Naruto.

_You really are an unpredictable ninja._

Naruto stepped over the fallen lord and made his way to the cabinets. Sarutobi tried to turn over and see what he was doing, but Naruto was done quickly and was back in the Hokage's vision. When the Third saw what he was holding, he struggled harder against the bonds.

"I'm sorry, Jiji but Ayame's been kidnapped." The Hokage immediately stopped and looked up at Naruto with shocked eyes. "I know. Her captor ransomed her for this scroll. If I don't give it, she will die."

Naruto recognized the look in the Third's eyes as he struggled once again. He wanted to help.

"Sorry, old man, but if I tell anyone she'll die anyway." Naruto turned and headed out the door. He stopped before he fully exited. "The dough will harden and crumble in a couple of hours. It does when the chakra I put into runs out. If I'm not back before that time, you might want to send someone after me. They're at my training field."

Naruto looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Thank you for everything you've done, Lord Hokage." Then disappeared.

Sarutobi, despite Naruto's warning, continued to struggle against the dough, but realized the boy was right. It was impossible.

However, Sarutobi was more afraid of what Naruto might discover what was in the scroll than it falling into the wrong hands.

I hope you can forgive me when you read the scroll, Naruto.

Iruka was finishing his reports about his new graduates and prepared to send them to the Hokage tomorrow. The forms were a detailed summary about each genin's skills and suggestion about who they should be paired with when teams were decided.

He put his forms into a folder and got ready to his students at Ichiraku's. As Naruto's brother, it was his duty to embarrass him in front of his friends and ultimately, have a fun time. He was also going to give Naruto his graduation present.

Iruka smiled. Naruto was like him in so many ways it was scary. When his parent's perished thirteen years ago, Iruka spent most his time being a class clown and pull pranks on the villagers. He did it mainly to be noticed, since his parent's were gone and he didn't have any friends.

He mainly became a teacher so he would never see any student alone and friendless. He knew the pain of being alone and how dark and cold it could be. He made a promise that he would never let a student go through that. Ever.

For years, Iruka never noticed a student like that. Each one had a family to love and friends to spend time with. But then Naruto came along.

Iruka spent every moment a teacher could with the boy. He saw the loneliness in the boy's eyes and the shakiness of his skills as ninja.

So Iruka decided to become his friend. At first, he may have been a little strict and mean, but eventually, the boy opened up to him and the two became friends. Iruka would visit Naruto and his friends at the ramen stand after class and Naruto would ask for training tips on the weekends.

Through the years, Iruka never blamed Naruto for the death of his parents. Though he knew what Naruto held, he knew the boy was never a demon.

A banging on the door broke Iruka from his thoughts. He hurried and opened it to find Mizuki, breathless.

"Mizuki? What's wrong?"

"It's Naruto. He's stolen the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage's office a few minutes ago."

Iruka felt disbelief at Mizuki's words. There had to be some mistake. Naruto would never do that.

"You need to go meet the other chunins at the Hokage tower," Mizuki said.

Iruka nodded dumbly, then took off.

* * *

Naruto stood impatiently next to the abandoned cabin that was in his training field, waiting for Ayame's captor. He kept praying that he was making the right decision by coming alone. He came early and had about 30 minutes left before the deadline was up.

But he would not risk Ayame's life like that. Even if it meant he had to die.

He kept staring at the scroll that was propped up against the wall, glaring at it like it was the scroll's fault he was in this situation. All of this trouble just for a few jutsus written on a piece of paper. Curiosity getting the better of him, he grabbed the scroll and plopped down the read it.

_Just what's so Forbidden about this scroll anyway?_

Naruto gently snapped the bind that held the old scroll together and unrolled it. He read the first few lines and raised an eyebrow.

_Shadow Clone jutsu....?_

* * *

Iruka arrived at the tower to see all of the lights were still turned off and the rooms completely empty. There were no chunins or even Anbu stationed anywhere in the building. As he made his way to the Hokage's room, his confusion grew.

Shouldn't there be other chunins here? After all, the Forbidden Jutsu scroll is the most important item in the village. If any enemy ninja got their hands on it, they could destroy the Hidden Leaf.

He turned around a corner in the hallway and spotted the door open to the Hokage's room. And on the floor, bound, was the Hokage.

Iruka hurried forward and dropped onto the ground beside the Hokage. He saw that he was bound and gagged by some unknown material. He grabbed the substance around the Third's mouth and pulled. It didn't budge.

The Third shook his head, groaning in pain. Iruka apologized and looked at the gag. Then tried again. When he touched it, he felt a tiny bit of chakra flare around it.

Getting the idea, Iruka pushed the chakra into his hands and tried once more to remove the gag. It began to pull off, but not before taking a few pieces of the Third's whiskers and skin.

Sarutobi spitted and coughed, trying to get the junk out of his mouth. Then glared at Iruka. "Next time, why don't you just rip my lips off?"

"Sorry Lord Hokage," apologized Iruka. Then looked at the gag. "What is this stuff?"

"Don't ask," snapped the Third. "Listen, Naruto-"

"I know, he stole the Forbidden Scroll. Mizuki told me the chunins were being organized to track him down."

The Hokage frowned. "Mizuki told you that?"

"Yes. Why, what's wrong?"

"Naruto stole the scroll because Ayame was kidnapped and held as a hostage for the scroll."

Iruka's eyes widened in surprise. _That's why he stole it?_

"The question now is how Mizuki found out when I had not seen him since this morning?" asked the Hokage.

Iruka and Sarutobi were silent for a few seconds before their eyes both widened in shock.

"Forget about me! Get to his training grounds!"

"Right!"

* * *

Naruto smiled as his latest technique dispelled in several puffs of smoke. In just a matter of minutes, he had already mastered a high-rank jutsu. He didn't know how, but be was able to summon several solid clones in just a few easy steps. The scroll said to be careful with this jutsu because of the amount of chakra it used. But Naruto didn't have that problem. Even after summoning several clones, he still felt fresh.

He turned back to the scroll and read about the next jutsu on the list. He gazed at the title. A title with no text below it. It was just an empty space.

Rasengan.

He tried to unroll the scroll more and yelped when he cut his finger on the paper. He brought the finger to his mouth to seal it when a drop fell onto an ink symbol underneath the title.

The symbol immediately turned blue and began to glow. Next, the ink seemed to crawl over the text and form kanji symbols. Naruto gazed in wonder at what was going on. It took a few minutes for the script to stop. When it did, Naruto saw that it wasn't a jutsu, but a letter.

A letter to him.

Curious, he read.

_To Naruto Uzumaki,_

_If you're reading this, then you have reached the ninja status of a genin. It was my wish for you to discover who your parent's were when you reached a more mature status. Hopefully, your godfather didn't spoil the secret and told you who I was. _

_You see, my name is Minato Namikaze, Yellow Flash of Konoha, and the Fourth Hokage._

_Yes, I'm your father. I wish I could tell you more, but time is short. As of right now, the Nine-Tailed Demon, Kyubi no Kitsune, is on its way to the village. The shinobi forces are on the move to prevent it from entering the city. As of right now, your godfather and I are working on a way to seal it away forever. I'm afraid the only option was to seal it in a newborn whose chakra paths have not fully been opened. It's the only way for the child to survive. Sarutobi-sensei offered himself to be the either the container or caster of the jutsu, so that my life and yours would be spared, but I didn't believe it would be a success._

_I have chosen you to be the container for the fox, for I believe you are the only one who can harness its power. I cannot ask anyone else to give up their child for this cause. _

_I can only hope you can forgive me for what I've done to you. My final wish will be that the village will see you as hero. But the life a jinchuriku is never a happy one._

_I offer my deepest regrets. My only wish was that there was another option._

_Your father, now and forever,_

_Minato Namikaze._

Naruto felt like a hole had just appeared inside him, sucking out all feeling he had. Any emotion he had left was sorrow, disbelief, and horror.

But most especially: Anger.

His father, his own flesh and blood, had sealed a demon inside his soul with full knowledge of the consequences that would pursue.

At first, Naruto didn't believe the letter. There was no way in hell that his father was the previous Hokage and he never had a monster sealed within him. The letter said something about a godfather, a man Naruto had never met or heard of.

But then, Naruto would remember the treatment he received from the villagers. The whispers of 'monster' and his treatment as an outcast. It all made sense now.

Then there was the fact he was born on October 10, the day the Kyubi attacked Konoha. He merely thought it was just a coincidence, but now the truth was right in front of him.

He really wasn't a demon.

Was he?

* * *

Well, there you go. Chapter 3, one of the longest chapter I had ever written, and yet, wrote in such a small amount of time.

The next chapter will feature Naruto's battle with Mizuki, meeting Konohamaru, and team selections.

The question is, should I stick to the canon and have the kids paired up like they are in the manga/anime or should I shake things up?

I would really like to see Naruto paired up with a new sensei, one that hasn't had much publicity in the mangas, like Hayate, Tsume, Genma or Raido. These four are Tokubetsu Jonin. Or maybe throw in one of the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio as a sensei.

Oh, remember in the story were Iruka suggested Naruto get a instrument to help with his hand signs. Any suggestions?

I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as I can. Hope you have enjoyed this chapter.


	4. Scrolls and Teams

Well, here it is. I must say, I got an impressive amount of messages about who Naruto should be paired with. Well, the results are in. Naruto will have a new sensei and new teammates. His instrument has been picked as well. The music part of the story is cheesy, I know, but I'm going to be mixing a lot of things together.

* * *

"I wonder where senpai is?" asked Hinata as she picked at her ramen, not hungry. She, Shikamaru, Choji and Teuchi were still waiting at the stand, even though Naruto and Ayame were an hour late.

Strangely enough, the group had been joined by a fourth student, Shino. The glasses clad ninja had been traveling to his clan's compound after graduation when he spotted his three classmates in a ramen shop. Curious, he went inside and was greeted enthusiastically by the trio and was invited to have a bowl.

'Why' was the question going through Shino's mind as he watched the three friends talk about their day. His family were considered outsiders by a majority of the village because of the their silence and unusual jutsu techniques. Nobody had bothered to spend time with him except his own family members. He overheard one the girls in his class that he was cold, silent and creepy. Even though he didn't show it, he felt his kikaichu insects buzz inside him in irritation.

That's the reason Shino was quiet and cold. His emotions were tied to his insects. Whenever he felt happy or anger, his insects would get excited and hurry through his body. It wasn't uncomfortable, but their buzzing could get real annoying real quick. During battle it didn't bother him since he was focused on fighting.

But today, a classmate reached out to him and wished him congratulations. Throughout all of his time at the academy, this was the first time anybody gave him a kind gesture. Shino was confused why this boy was addressing him when he was considered an outsider as well. The blonde pulled pranks, made jokes and was basically only an average shinobi. And yet, Shino felt he needed to study the boy more.

Because for the first time, Shino felt like he could actually have a friend.

"Is he usually this late?" Shino asked.

"When it comes to ramen, Naruto is never late," Choji said. His face was etched in worry. He hadn't even touched his food.

"And what's more, Ayame is late as well," Shikamaru mumbled from his arm-pillow on the counter. It looked like he was just being lazy, but everyone could tell his body was just as tense as everyone else.

"Could she just be late getting the ice cream?" Shino asked.

"She would have to have bought it from the other side of the village," said Teuchi. The nervousness was clearly etched on his face.

The group just sat in silence for a few more minutes. Teuchi cleaned the countertop for the twelfth time. Hinata stirred her ramen with her chopsticks, Choji's foot was tapping against his stool as he stared at his bowl, Shikamaru just slept, and Shino watched the group.

Shino, just by spending a few minutes with, could tell everyone cared about Naruto. He realized that Naruto was not an outcast at all. He had friends like everyone else. It was only a handful, but it was enough.

Seeing the emotion build up, Shino decided to do something.

"Let's go look for them," he suggested.

Everyone in the stand turned to him, their faces written in surprise.

"That's a good idea, but what if they come back while we're looking for them?" asked Choji.

"Leave that to me. It's the most logical choice I should help you with your search."

"How," asked Teuchi.

Shino just stood from his stool and walked outside. He raised his arms from his sides and held them aloft. After a quick moment, a cloud of insects had emerged from both sleeves of his jacket and from around his collar. Everyone walking in the streets just stared with disgust and mortification, while his classmates smiled. They knew what he planned to due and were not at all sickened by his jutsu.

After a moment, the insects swirled in the air before dispersing and flying out over the village.

Teuchi, who watched with fascination, asked, "what did you just do?"

"My insects can recognize every chakra signature from my classmates. It's one of the first techniques I taught to them. If they find Naruto's signature, they'll inform me immediately."

"What about Ayame?" asked Teuchi.

"My observations are not misinformed. Naruto shares a special bond with your daughter, am I correct?"

Teuchi smiled while Naruto's friends smirked.

"With the time he spends with you and Ayame, his scent is probably on the two of you. My insects are not trained as much as a ninken in tracking, but they can recognized scents as well. They'll inform me if they find anything," explained Shino.

"Shino, you're a genius," Hinata said as she sent Shino a warm smile.

Shino was glad his insects were no longer in his body because he felt himself warm slightly at her words.

* * *

Naruto sat on the ground, his back leaning against the cabin. When he got done reading the scroll, he just rolled it back up and placed it on the ground beside him. Then, just stared off into the forest, almost forgetting about Ayame.

The truth had finally come out. He was the son of the 4th Hokage, an child made into a sacrifice the moment he was born. The reason he was an outcast and a monster had finally been revealed to him.

Naruto didn't know what to think about himself. Never in his life did ever think he was demon. He didn't have any urges to kill or destroy like what he heard about in the stories thirteen years ago. He felt just like....well....a kid. He got up every morning, went to school, trained, spent time with his friends. That's what a kid did, not a monster.

However, he did know one thing. That his father was the Fourth Hokage and he gave Naruto the burden of harvesting a demon. The Fourth knew his son would be blamed for the demon's attack, despite his final wish for his son to be a hero. What kind of a father would sacrifice the life of his son? A father is supposed to protect his son, to shield him from danger and pain.

His father...no...Namikazee did the exact opposite. For that, Naruto would never acknowledge that man as his father.

A light crack in the woods made him left his head up. It was too obvious to be natural. Naruto realized it must have been Ayame's captor. He pulled himself off the ground, pulled a kunai out of his holster, and got ready. Regardless of the shock he had earlier, he had to be on guard to protect Ayame.

A figure had leapt through the shadows and landed ten meters in front of Naruto. He could see that the figure was garbed in the basic chunin garb with two large shuriken strapped to his back. His headband was wrapped around his hair, but his face was still obscure by the shadows.

That is, until the figure rose up and the moonlight lite his face.

Naruto nearly dropped his kunai in shock. "Mizuki-sensei?"

Mizuki smirked. "I see you actually followed instructions for once, Naruto."

Naruto got back on guard. "Where's Ayame?"

"Oh, she's fine. Just tied up in the woods behind me. You keep your end of the bargain and she'll be back to you and her father."

"How can I trust your word?" asked Naruto. He wanted to believe Mizuki, but the man just betrayed his village.

"My word is a whole lot better than yours, demon," spat Mizuki.

Naruto froze. Hearing that term now seemed to have a bigger impact that it did earlier. Once again, Naruto's doubt began to cloud his judgement.

Mizuki saw this and smiled. "What? That term bothers you? I thought you would be used to it by now?"

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"You mean you don't know? Thirteen years ago, the day you were born, the fourth Hokage sealed the Nine-tailed Fox demon inside you. The demon was too powerful to be killed. You're the Kyubi reborn! You killed all those people, including your beloved brother's parents!"

That mark hit home. With Naruto's confusion, he began to wonder more if he was the Kyubi or not. And Iruka did tell Naruto he lost his parent's in the Kyubi attack. Did that make him a murderer if he was the monster?

"No...that can't be....I'm not a murderer....I'm not a demon!!" yelled Naruto.

"Yes!" laughed Mizuki. "You're the monster that almost destroyed our village."

"No!" yelled Naruto. "You're wrong! I'm not the demon! I'm its container! The Fourth sealed it in me to keep the village safe!"

Mizuki'e eyes widened in surprise. "You...You knew? You knew the Kyubi was sealed inside you?"

"I know the truth. And you've just screwed with the wrong ninja!" Naruto chucked his kunai towards Mizuki's neck. Mizuki snapped out of his shock and deflected the kunai with his own. He then gazed at Naruto with rage.

"You made the worst mistake of you life," said Mizuki as he unstrapped on the shuriken. He began to sping around his hand and chucked at Naruto. "Now burn in hell, monster!"

Naruto knew the shuriken was traveling to fast him to dodge. Believing this was the end, he closed his and waited for the pain. He heard the thunk of the shuriken striking its target and a grunt of pain, but he didn't feel any pain.

He opened his eyes to see Iruka standing in front of him with his arms stretched out, shielding him. He could hear his labored breathing and see the shuriken protruding from his back..

"Nii-san!" cried Naruto. He couldn't believe it. After everything he done in the past hour, his teacher stepped in front of certain death to save him.

Iruka, through his pain, smiled at Naruto. "Hey, Naruto," he whispered.

"Why did you save me? I..I killed your parents," said Naruto, beginning to tear up. "I'm nothing but a mosnter."

Iruka began to cry as well. "No. You didn't kill them, anaki. The Kyubi did. You could never hurt anyone unless you had to. A demon doesn't have a heart of gold like you do."

There was a moment of silence before Mizuki began chuckling. "My, my. It seems the monster actually has someone that cares for him. An orphan for an orphan. If it wasn't so revolting, it would be cute."

Iruka slowly turned around to shield Naruto. Every step he took, he groaned with pain. "You're not going to touch him or the scroll, Mizuki. You'll have to go through me to do that."

"With pleasure," Mizuki smiled darkly. He began to walk to the duo.

"Naruto. Take the scroll and get out of here. Get back to the Tower and warn the Hokage what's going on," said Iruka.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed. "I just can't leave you-"

"That's an order, genin!" Iruka barked. "Now go!"

Naruto hesitated for a second, then turned around, grabbed the scroll, and leapt to the treetops. Iruka watched him go, then turned back to Mizuki.

"Now, where were we?"

* * *

"I found him," Shino said suddenly. The others snapped out of their dazes and turned to him. They had been waiting for around half an hour for news.

"Where?" Hinata asked.

"The queen inside me heard from one of the soldiers found Naruto's chakra trail. It's in the northwest part of the village, about three kilometers."

"That's Naruto's training grounds," said Shikamaru.

"What's he doing there?" asked Teuchi.

"I don't know, but I'm going after him," stated Choji and took off in that direction. Hinata and Shikamaru followed closely behind him. Shino turned to the ramen cook.

"I'm sorry but my insects have not found you daughter yet."

"I'm sure she's ok. Just follow your friends and help Naruto out."

Friends? The word was so foreign to Shino that it took him by surprise. Never once did he hear that word referred to him and a group of people. Were those really his friends? He didn't know, but a great feeling was warming his heart at the thought of having friends.

Shino nodded and leapt after his friends.

* * *

Naruto ran through the treetops and branches with the scroll strapped to his back. Tears blurred his sight and his lungs were about to burst. And his conscience was screaming at him to turn back and help Iruka.

He hopped to the forest ground and sat down against a tree, trying to catch his breath. He had never run so hard in his life, even in training. That jutsu he did earlier must have affected him worse than he thought.

Taking a guess, he figured he was only a kilometer outside of the village walls. Once he arrived, he would head straight to Jiji and tell him what was going on.

But he didn't get up from the ground. He kept staring back over his shoulder, looking towards the area where he left Iruka and Mizuki to their battle. Guilt was gnawing away at his mind. He should have stayed behind and helped fight, rankings be damned. Iruka was injured and in no condition to fight.

Naruto heard a twig snap, causing him to freeze. There was a few minutes of silence before Mizkuki's voice rang out through the woods.

"Naruto! I have you girlfriend and brother! Bring out the scroll and I'll let them go!"

Panic began to fill his chest as he got the scroll from his pack and gripped it tightly to his chest.

"You've got one minute! If I don't bring me the scroll, they're dead!"

Naruto's fear increased. Mizuki was serious. If Naruto didn't do something, the two people he cared about most in the world was going to die. He had to think of something.

But to save what he could, there was only one option. Give up the scroll. Naruto was being torn between his care for his loved ones and his duty as a shinobi. Could he live with himself he gave up the village's most treasured secrets just to save them?

_Your Will of Fire...._

Naruto froze as the Hokage's words ran through his mind.

To protect that which you love most......you give your life....

The Third was right. If he couldn't protect what he loved the most, how could he be a shinobi.

"Your time's almost up, demon! Are you willing to sacrifice them?!"

"NEVER!!" Naruto shouted and he jumped around the tree. He dashed towards the direction Mizuki's voice. A few jumps and he spotted them.

Mizuki was standing on the branch of a tree, nearly four stories off the ground. He had a sick look on his face as he held his hostages to his sides. Iruka was unconscious and had several cuts and bruises on his face. The shuriken was removed from his back, but he was still bleeding pretty bad. Ayame was bound and gagged, but was unharmed. Her eyes were wide with fear and streaked with tears as she gazed at Naruto.

Mizuki smiled. "So the monster came back to help. How sweet. Now, give me the scroll and I'll let your friends go."

Naruto gripped the scroll. "How about a different trade? You release them and use me as a hostage instead?"

"You think I'm stupid?" Mizuki snapped. "Why should I use you as hostage when I can have the scroll now?!"

"Because if any harm comes to them, I'll pay it back a thousand."

Mizuki laughed. "You fool. What can a little fox like you do?" He then pushed Ayame and Iruka a little farther from himself. "You know what? I've changed my mind. I'll let you choose which one to save and then just kill you afterwards. Who's it going to be? Your girlfriend or your brother? Now choose!"

Mizuki pushed Iruka and Ayame off the branch and to the ground. With they way they were falling, they would land straight onto their heads. Iruka would have landed on his feet because of his skills, but he was still knocked out. Ayame had no ninja training so she was likely to die as well.

Believe it or not, this was what Naruto was hoping for. Naruto charged forward as soon as Mizuki let go of them and ran straight for the tree. Before he got the base, he put his hands together in a cross symbol.

**"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**

Numerous pops of smoke surrounded the area around him and immediately formed into exact copies of himself. A thousand to be exact. At once, they separated into two groups and formed a cushion to catch the falling Iruka and Ayame.

Mizuki was shocked at the number of clones Naruto managed to create. Not only did he create numerous amounts of shadow clones, they formalized immediately and caught his hostages. He didn't even noticed the original still running up the tree.

Naruto trusted his clones to catch them and went straight for Mizuki. The chunin didn't even know Naruto was there until his fist sank into his gut, lifting him off the branch. While Mizuki was in the air, Naruto twisted in mid-air and slammed his heel into Mizuki's back with a spinning heel kick. The force shot him straight into the ground, the impact causing a small crater.

Naruto landed on the branch and watched Mizuki struggle from the ground. He got to his feet he gazed at shock and fear at the shadow clones who were glaring at him from all directions.

"I told you I was going to pay you back in full, sensei," Naruto smirked.

"Wait! Maybe we can work something out," yelled Mizuki.

"Sorry. I don't take refunds. Get him!"

Mizuki's screams reverberated throughout the trees as Naruto's clones beat the living crap out of him. In minutes, the clones disappeared from the area and Mizuki was unconscious, bruised and smoking.(I don't know how the smoking thing works really)

Naruto jumped down from the tree and went to Ayame, who had been freed by Naruto's clones. She ran up to him and immediately glomped on him. He returned with it with enthusiasm. After enjoying the moment, he pulled away and cupped her face with his hands.

"Are you ok? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Ayame shook her head smiled, a few, fresh tear leaking from her eyes. "No, he didn't." She then grabbed him into another hug. "I knew you would come for me."

Naruto chuckled. "Of course. You're my girl."

"And you're my knight in shining armor," she replied.

Naruto rose an eyebrow. _I'm a what?_

A grunt of pain broke his eye contact and towards the sound. Iruka, who was laying peacefully on the ground, was stirring awake. The two broke apart and walked towards the injured teacher, who was beginning to open his eyes.

"Are you ok, niisan?" Naruto asked as he knelt down beside Iruka.

"Considering there is a giant hole in my back, I'm doing just fine," Iruka grinned. "I'm proud of you, little brother. You've proven yourself to be a splendid ninja, even after what you did to Lord Hokage."

Naruto cringed and rubbed his neck. "You knew what happened?"

"Yes, and while an ingenious jutsu, it may end up straight into that scroll you stole."

"Really?"

"Naruto!" a voice called out. A moment later, Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata and Shino leapt out the trees and into the clearing. Hinata rushed forward immediately began looking at Iruka's injuries.

"What happened to you?" asked Shikamaru. He gazed drifted around the forest, ending with Mizuki on the ground.

"Ayame was kidnaped by Mizuki and held for ransom for the Forebidden Scroll in the Hokage tower," Naruto explained while Ayame lowered her head in shame. Naruto grabbed her hand and smiled, assuring her it was not her fault.

"Mizkuki was a traitor?" asked Choji as he poked the chunin's body with a stick. "What a jackass."

"Senpai, we need to get Iruka to the hospital," Hinata suddenly said. She was holding Iruka's back while he tried to sit up. "His wounds are not life-threatening but I'm not positive he's out of danger."

"I'll have my insects contact my family and warn the hospital, Teuchi-san and Hokage what has transpired here," Shino told everyone.

"Thank you, Shino," Naruto said. He put his hands in cross symbol once again. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**

Four clones poofed into existence, causing his friends to widen their eyes in shock.

"I'll explain everything when we get back to the tower," Naruto stated. He looked at his clones. "You two, help Iruka to the hospital and please be careful," he said to the clones on the left. "You two, tie up Mizkuki and take him to the Tower and ANBU," he told the clones on the right.

"Sir!" the clones saluted and got to work. Naruto turned to his friends.

"Let's get going," he told them. They nodded and took off into the woods, the clones, Iruka and Mizuki right behind them. He turned his back to Ayame and lowered himself slightly. "My lady."

Ayame smiled and hopped onto Naruto's back. Then he leapt into the trees after his friends.

* * *

The group dropped Iruka off at the hospital while Naruto's clones took Mizuki to ANBU headquarters. At the hospital, after Iruka got admitted, Naruto was able to meet Shino's father, Shibi. He was there to meet the group that Shino was spending his time with.

"I'm proud of Shino to see that he used his kikai insects to track his comrades down. He's proven himself to be a great wielder of his hive."

"I think after tonight, Shino has become a comrade and a great friend, Shibi-san," Naruto admitted. "I was really grateful for his help tonight." Everyone around him nodded in agreement.

"I'm now even more proud to see that he has friends," said Shibi. He then turned to his son. "Come, Shino. We need to get back to the compound."

"Yes, father," said Shino and began to walk away.

"Hey, Shino, would you like to come with us at the stand tomorrow and continue our graduation celebration that we had to postpone?"

Shino looked at his father, who gave him a nod. "I would be honored, Naruto-san."

"Good. See you at noon then," Naruto said and stuck his hand out. Shino gazed at it for a moment, then grasped it and shook. Naruto and Shino both smiled as they let go. Then the Aburames left.

"Senpai, we should get home as well," Hinata told him. "You can tell us the story tomorrow."

"Yeah, she's right. If I don't get home soon, my mom will smack me upside the head again," Shikamaru groaned.

"I need to get home as well. I'm starving," Choji complained.

Naruto chuckled. "Ok then, we'll meet at the stand tomorrow for lunch."

Everyone said their good-byes while Naruto and Ayame went to Hokage tower. This time of night, the streets were empty. Naruto once again carried Ayame to the Tower. The two were silent throughout the trip, but it was enough. Naruto could feel Ayame's cheek resting against his back. To be honest, he really enjoyed how close she was to him. The warmth he felt from her was amazing.

Naruto jumped to the Hokage's balcony and knocked on the window. Sarutobi saw the couple sticking to the walls and got up from his chair to open the glass.

"Naruto, Ayame. It's really great to see you both alive," the Hokage smiled.

"Ayame!" Teuchi, who was sitting in the chair at the Hokage's desk, got up and hurried to his daughter. She jumped of Naruto's back and jumped in his arms.

"Dad! I thought I wouldn't see you again," Ayame cried.

Naruto could see the tears falling from both their faces and his heart warmed at their reunion. He unstrapped the scroll from his back and laid it on the Hokage's desk. But before he could say anything, he felt himself being turned around and embraced by Teuchi.

"Thank you, Naruto. When the Hokage informed me what happened, I thought I had lost her, just like her mother. Thank you for bringing her back to me," sobbed Teuchi.

Naruto just chuckled and rubbed Teuchi's back. "It was nothing, Pops. I would do anything to protect her."

The Hokage and Teuchi smiled while Ayame blushed a cherry-red, but with a grin.

"I'm proud of you, Naruto," started the Third. "You've shown the courage and ability of a true ninja this evening. And not only that, I heard from Iruka that you mastered an A-rank jutsu from the scroll within a matter of minutes. That is truly extraordinary."

Naruto smiled, but then frowned. Memories of what happened afterwards flooded through his mind.

"Is something wrong?" asked the Hokage.

"Yes, sir. There is the fact that my father is the Fourth Hokage and the burden he left me with."

The Ichiraku's eyes widened in shock. Then they realized the truth when they saw the resemblance between the two. It was uncanny.

"Naruto, you have to understand-" started the Third.

"I understand why you kept it a secret, Lord Hokage," Naruto interupted. The Third winced at his force. "The Fourth kept it a secret because of the enemies he made and if any of them discovered who I was, they would stop at nothing see his heritage dead. Even if it meant starting a war."

"I'm glad to see you understand," said the Third.

"No. What I don't understand is what he did the day I was born?"

"So you know of your prisoner?" asked the Hokage with a crestfallen gaze.

"And why the people hate me. I am jinchuriku for the Kyubi no Kitsune. The demon is sealed within my body and everyone in this village believes I'm it reincarnated."

Before the Hokage could reassure him, Teuchi stepped forward and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"You are NOT the Kyubi, Naruto. I've known of the burden you carried since the moment you walked into my shop nearly six years ago. And when I saw you, I saw a boy, not a monster."

Ayame stepped up next her father with a look of sadness on her face. "Everyone is blind to see who you really are, Naru-kun. A man and a strong ninja."

"You're not at all bothered by this?" Naruto asked, his voice breaking.

The Ichiraku's didn't answer, but pulled the boy into a group hug. Naruto could feel the kindness and warmth they gave and it felt like he was a family member already. That was a good enough answer. And for the first time in a long while, Naruto felt his eyes getting moist.

It was a few minutes before the broke up and turned back to the Hokage, who had a smiled on his face. Naruto had actually found a chosen few to actually care about him.

Then he turned back to business. "Naruto, when you became a genin, you automatically became an adult in this village. This means you can have access to your father's family vault, library and estates. You can take up his name and become a clan head of the village, even at your age."

"No," Naruto said simply "I don't want any of that.".

This caused the Hokage's mouth to fall open. He gaped like a fish for a few moments before he found his voice. "No? You don't want....Why not?"

"Because that bastard stopped being my father the moment he sealed the Kyubi within my body. He gave his own son as a sacrifice in hopes that I could harness it's power. The Fourth turned me into a weapon for the village." He felt his hand being grasped by Ayame and squeezed gently in assurance. He smiled. "If I'm going to be Hokage, I'm going to create my own name in the world through my own sweat and blood, not have it jump started because of who my family is."

The Hokage stared at the blond for a few minutes of silence and sighed. "If that is your wish, than I can respect that. However, I will have to inform the council of what has transpired tonight and that includes your heritage."

"Can you ask them to keep it a secret?" asked Naruto. "I don't want the whole village to know about this."

"I can try Naruto. We'll talk about this more in a couple of days. Right now, I think Ayame and Teuchi could use some rest after what happened."

Naruto looked at the clock, which read almost midnight. He turned to the Ichiraku's and saw them beginning to get tired. "I think you're right. I'll come after lunch tomorrow, if that's okay with you Jiji."

"That will be fine. Now you three go get some sleep," said the Third. The trio turned to the door and were outside in the hallway when Sarutobi called out again. "Oh, Naruto. One more second please."

"I'll meet you outside," Naruto told them. He then walked back into the room and shut the door. "Yes?"

The Third pulled a stack of ryo notes from his desk and placed them on the table. "By defeating Mizuki, I've think you've earned a little bonus."

Naruto gazed at the money with wonder. "You serious, Jiji?"

"I'm sure," the Hokage grinned. "It's the standard reward for defeating a traitor. Take it."

Naruto only hesitated for a second before picking up the money and pocketing it. "Thanks."

"See you later, Naruto."

* * *

The three walked down the abandoned street on their way to the Ichiraku's house. It was a nice night for a walk, Teuchi noticed, as he watched the two kids in front of him. Even in the light, he could see that they were holding hands. Teuchi smiled at the teens that were finally getting together.

When they arrived at the house, Naruto pulled away. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Good-bye, Naruto," Teuchi waved to the boy, but immediately noticed that Ayame didn't say anything. He looked at her to see a look of fear cross her face as she watched him leave. In fact, she began to tremble a little bit.

Then Teuchi realized she was scared. Scared of him leaving her.

"Wait, Naruto," Teuchi called out. The boy stopped and hurried back to them. "Why don't you stay with us tonight?"

"Really?" asked Naruto with a surprised look. He didn't, however, notice the look of relief on Ayame's face.

"Yeah. We need a strong ninja to protect us. And after tonight, I don't want to leave Ayame unprotected."

Naruto looked confused for a moment before shrugging. "Sure, no problem, Pops."

"Thanks, son," Teuchi said and unlocked the door. He lead the way to the kitchen and turned on the light, illuminating the small apartment that was his. Naruto had only been over a few times, but always enjoyed his visits because of its homely feel. The living room had the basic necessities: a couch, TV, recliner, coffee table while the kitchen was stocked a refrigerator, sink, and cooking stove. Next to the front door was a small staircase that led to the rooms upstairs.

Ayame went straight up the stairs and to her room while Naruto followed Teuchi into the kitchen. Teuchi pulled a bottle of sake from the fridge, pulled the top off and took a hearty swig.

"You shouldn't drink, Pops. It's bad for your liver."

Teuchi chuckled. "After what happened tonight, how could I not. I almost lost the one thing that matters most to me in this world."

"Ayame's fine," Naruto stated. "Nothing bad is going to happen to her as long as me and you are watching out for her."

"That's why I asked you to stay over tonight," Teuchi muttered. "She's terrified. This was the worst thing to happen to her and you saved her from certain death. Don't be surprised if she's going to start being clingy to you."

Naruto blushed slightly and muttered something about not minding, which Teuchi heard and snickered.

"Your head over heels for her, aren't you?" asked Teuchi.

"I am," Naruto admitted. "But we can never be."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm a shinobi and a long life is never guaranteed. I could be alive today and dead next week on some mission. I can't leave Ayame like that."

There was a moment of silence before Teuchi sighed. "Naruto, I rather Ayame be with you than any other guy in the world. I don't care if the son of the daimyo came and asked for my daughter, I wouldn't give her to him."

"But why me?" asked the blond.

"Because, as Ayame said, you have become more of an adult and a man than anyone's she's ever seen. And you have proven to me over the years that you are filled with the right guts to be always be at her side and keep her safe. That's why."

Naruto gazed at wonder at the man who in no was related to him, was telling him that he was the perfect guy for Ayame. He always thought a father is never supposed to like the guy his daughter was dating. The two actually used to team up and scare Ayame's other boyfriends when they had the chance.

Teuchi put the bottle back into the fridge and snapped Naruto out of his daze. "Now, I want you to march up those steps and get ready for bed. You can use the room on the left."

Naruto, who visited only a few times, never stayed over and never went upstairs. He made his way up the steps and was almost at the top when Teuci called him.

"Hey Naruto? Why didn't you accept your father's heritage? Even if you don't like him, you could have been a clan head and lived at the Namikazee estates. You've could have been rich instead of hanging out with us."

"Because the Fourth was my father only in blood, not by love. And besides, I already have a father."

"Really? Who? The Third?"

"No. You, Pops," Naruto smiled. A look of shock was on Teuchi's face before he returned the smile.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed," Naruto stated as he climbed up the steps to the second floor. "Goodnight, dad."

"Goodnight, son," Teuchi called back. He then filled up a glass of water and walked into the living room and sat down in his recliner, hoping to enjoy some peace before going to bed.

Then, two surprised shouts came from upstairs. Teuchi just closed his eyes and smirked.

* * *

"Sorry!" Naruto said as he turned around and faced the wall across the hallway

"Naruto, it's okay. You just scared me," Ayame said breathlessly, holding her hand to her heart. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Your roo...Pops said I could sleep in here. Why didn't he tell me this was your room?"

"I guess he thought it would be funny," Ayame chuckled. "Well, aren't you going to come in? Wait, are you blushing?"

Yes he was. When he walked through the door and saw Ayame, he though she was naked at first due to the skin he saw. But in the glimpse, he saw that she was wearing a pair of short sleeping shorts and a cream-colored shirt that matched her skin.

Naruto never saw Ayame much out of the clothes she cooked and when she did dress differently, it was always a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. He had never seen her in shorts and right now, he couldn't get the image of her smooth legs out of his mind.

He could hear her walking across the room towards him. "Well if you want, you can stay with me. After tonight, I could use a teddy bear to hug. Whatya say, Naru-kun?" He felt her arms wrap around his neck and her check against his. Right now, he was sure he was glowing red now.

"W-welllll, o-okay," Naruto tried to say, his tongue getting stuck in his mouth a couple of times. He felt Ayame let go and heard her walk back to her bed. Naruto slowly turned around to see her pulling the covers over her. She looked up and saw him looking a little fearful. Ayame just smiled and patted the side of her bed.

Naruto swallowed and slid in beside her after taking off his jacket. He could feel his heart pounding as he laid beside Ayame, the two just staring at each other for the longest time. Brown eyes lost in blue.

Then Ayame shifted a little closer. "Naruto...thank you...for everything. I had no doubt you were going to save me, but I had never been so scared in my life."

Naruto smiled. "Aya-chan, as I said a long time ago, Kami couldn't keep me away from you. You are one of the few people who mean more to me than life itself and I would gladly give my life to save yours."

"I hope you never have to, Naru-kun," Ayame said sadly. "Cause if you go, I'll probably come right after you."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Ayame, why would you-"

Ayame silenced him by leaning in and kissed him. Naruto's eyes, if possible, widened even more. He felt his heartbeat speed up and his brain shut down. He couldn't seem to process that the girl of his dreams was actually kissing him.

The two stay connected for nearly half a minute before Ayame pulled away and snuggled into Naruto's neck. "Because I love you," she mumbled. She then sighed and was asleep in minutes.

Naruto, however, was wide awake. His heart was beginning to calm down but his mind was racing. Ayame loved him? Not in a family sense, but actually love? All of his life, he dreamed of this moment even when he believed it would never happen. At yet, here it was.

A faint smile crossed his face as he nestled his head in her hair. The only thought running through his head as he drifted off he hoped this wasn't a dream.

After about an hour, Teuchi went upstairs to check on the kids. He smiled when he saw the couple on the bed, both of them relaxed and happy.

* * *

The next day, seven people were chatting happily in a ramen stand. Teuchi and Ayame were cooking lunch while five genins were eating happily. The main concern on their mind was how their 'tips' jar was suddenly filled with several ryo bills. Shino was observing his knew friends while they talked, Hinata giggled every ten seconds, Shikmaru shook his head and muttered, and Choji and Naruto were once again trying top each other in eating the most ramen. In between bites, Naruto told the story of his adventure yesterday.

* * *

"Nice picture, Naruto," said the Hokage. "I like the new clothes."

Naruto smiled. He was now wearing a new outfit, courtesy of his friends. Actually, he looked like a cross between their outfits. He was wearing of black, cargo shorts like Choji's, a long-sleeved mesh shirt, like Shikamaru's, and a dark, gray jacket similar to Hinata's with the sleeves cutoff, but still had the hood and no fur. He still had the weapons and orange wristbands. His goggles were around his neck instead of his head, where his leaf headband was tied.

It was a few days later, after the scroll incident. Iruka had been released from the hospital and spent his free time with Naruto and his friends. He was completely amazed at his little brother's win over his former colleague and his new Shadow Clone technique.

Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Something wrong, jiji?" asked Naruto.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. I was able to keep your heritage a secret from the council but it seems that my old teammates have found out."

Naruto frowned. "How?"

"I'm not sure. That secret was limited to only the four people in this room the other night and I know the Ichirakus never told a soul. The only thing that remains is that someone else was listening in that night. Whoever they are, they concealed themselves well for me not to notice."

Naruto nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "So what do we do?"

"Nothing right now," Sarutobi admitted. "My advisors may be prude, but they'll keep it a secret from the council and keep it within the village. Just be on your guard, Naruto. They may try to persuade you to take your fat....I mean, the Fourth's name. They can be persistent about these things."

"I'll be careful, sir," Naruto assured.

Sarutobi then pulled open the drawer of his desk and grabbed a scroll, which he handed to Naruto. "That scroll contains all the information about the sealing process. I know it's a touchy subject, Naruto, but all the information about the **Fuin Jutsu** is in that scroll. It's yours if you want."

Naruto frowned again, but pocketed the scroll anyway. "Thanks."

"On guard, old man!" a voice called. The door quickly slid open and child jumped through, only to trip over the extremely long scarf he was wearing and fall flat on his face. Nartuo recognized him as Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson. Naruto had heard the old man talk about how active his grandson was and showed him the picture on his desk. He was often told how the two were so similar.

The boy got up and scowled at Naruto. "It was you, wasn't it? You tripped me using a trap!"

"There are no traps here, honorable grandson!" said another voice from the door. A man garbed in the traditional black, ninja uniform, the headband and was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses, which kept slipping off his nose. Naruto recognized him as Ebisu, Konohamaru's personal teacher.

Naruto picked up Konohamaru by the scruff of his neck and held him at eye level. "You know, it's considered very rude to interrupt a meeting, especially when the meeting consists a genin and a Kage."

"Unhand him!" shouted the man. "He's the grandson of the Hokage!"

Naruto glared at the kid, who smirked. The blond growled and flicked the kid on his forehead, then dropped on his butt.

"Like I actually care," said Naruto, who turned towards the door. "See you later, Lord Hokage."

"_Ja ne_, Naruto," said the Third. He saw Ebisu's mouth was dropped in surprise at the actions of Naruto while his grandson watched Naruto walk out.

* * *

Naruto walked out of tower's gates and towards Ichiraku's. He told Teuchi he would help this afternoon at the stand and he was already running late.

But he got halfway there when he heard quick footsteps behind him. He tried to ignore it, but it followed him whatever street he turned on. After a few minutes, he finally turned around to see a kid holding a blanket with a wood-paneling design against a wooden fence. But Naruto could see the kid's feet at the bottom, his ponytail at the top, and a blue scarf on the ground.

"Konohamru, you really need to work on your stealth and concealment tactics if you're going to be a great ninja."

Konohamaru dropped the blanket and smirked at Naruto. "So, your abilities are a match to my own in greatness. I've chosen well."

Naruto rose an eyebrow. "Chosen? What the heck are you talking about?"

Konohamaru pointed at Naruto. "Train me! Please teach me the technique you used on my grandpa! If I learn it, I can use against him and become Hokage!"

Naruto snickered. Did this kid really believe he could be Hokage at such a young age? He had a big head and big dreams. Naruto could actually see the resemblance between the two now. It was like having a little brother.

"All right. Follow me and I'll show the wonders of my own personal jutsu: Ramen Style."

"Yes!" cheered Konohamaru. He followed his new teacher to their training.

* * *

"Lord Hokage! Where's Konohamaru, sir?" Ebisu asked frantically.

The Third shrugged. "I don't know Ebisu. Maybe he went off the find Naruto."

Ebisu gasped and ran out of the office, intent on separating his charge from the monster. Sarutobi sighed and gazed back down at his crystal ball, watching Naruto train his grandson.

_This oughtt to be good. Please, for the love of Kami, don't teach him your Sexy jutsu. His mother would kill me._

* * *

"This is not training! This is work!" complained Konohamaru. He was currently molding noodle dough, trying to mix his chakra with it while Naruto was cooking with Teuchi and Ayame was making a deliveries.

"You wanted to learn my style and this is how I got started," Naruto assured the boy. He was currently stirring a batch of broth while a clone was pulling noodles from the boiler. "And besides, if you're not working hard enough, you'll never get stronger."

Konohamaru grunted and continued kneading and stretching his batch of dough. Naruto just chuckled and served a bowl to several customers who didn't seem to mind eating at the stand when he was working. Teuchi was praising Naruto for using his ability to use clones to help with the cooking.

After a few minutes, Naruto called a halt to Konohamaru's training and decided to test it. The two walked into streets, spaced about ten feet apart.

Konohamaru put his hands together in the 'tiger' hand sign and channeled his chakra into the dough.

**"Ninja Art: Noodle Bind jutsu!**" he yelled. He threw the ball of dough at Naruto, who braced for the attack. He felt the dough impact his chest, where the dough stretched around his body.

Konohamaru yelled in victory, thinking he won. But then the dough begin to slack and drip to the ground. When Naruto was unbound, he picked up the dough and put in the trash. "Nice try, Konoh."

"Arrgghh! Why can't I get?" Konohamaru yelled. "I thought this jutsu would be a perfect shortcut to become Hokage."

Naruto frowned and smacked Konohamaru in the back of the head. "If you think this is a shortcut, you're sorely mistaken, you baka. You can't become a strong ninja, much less a hokage, by cutting corners. A ninja becomes as strong as he can be through hard work, not giving up, and keeping your Will of Fire strong."

"Will of Fire?" Konohamaru asked. "You mean that gibberish the old man keeps talking about?"

Naruto smacked him in the head again. "Say one more stupid thing, I dare you. Your grandfather is an intelligent and strong shinobi. Don't you know why the call him 'the Professor'."

Konohamaru shook his head, causing Naruto to sigh.

"Come on," groaned Naruto, pushing Konohamaru back into the stand. "Apparently, that teacher of yours isn't teaching you anything. Let me tell you what it means to be a ninja..."

* * *

As the hours passed, the Third watched Naruto taught his grandson the ways and meanings of a shinobi. From past experience to what he learned from Iruka, the Third saw Konohamaru soak up Naruto's knowledge like a sponge. And while Naruto's ways may be a little unorthodox, Sarutobi had no problem with his grandson learning from Naruto.

* * *

In the late afternoon, when people began to close up and go home, Ebisu finally found his charge hanging around the ramen stand. He was helping Naruto wash dishes.

"Honored Grandson! It's time to leave! There's no need to hang around these peasants."

"What did you call us?" shouted Teuchi. "I oughta beat the crap out of you!"

"Calm down, Pop," said Naruto as he dried the dishes handed to him by Konohamaru. "It's not his fault he's got his head so far up his ass. Oh, and a bad teacher."

"How dare you! I'm the elite of all _tokubetsu_ jonin. It's my job to train all of the young students of the council the ways of the shinobi. Now let's leave, Honored Grandson."

"No," Konohamaru stated. He dropped his wash rag and walked out of the stand. The boy then faced Ebisu with his hands in the tiger seal. "I'm through with you telling me what's right and what's wrong. From now one, I'm going to make my own decisions."

"Honored Grandson, please stop this fool-"

**"Ninja Art: Noodle Bind jutsu!"** Konohmaru yelled, throwing the dough ball at Ebisu. It wrapped around the teacher's body and bound his arms tightly. "I finally did it!"

Ebisu struggled for a few seconds before he stretched his arms out to their fullest, stretching the dough out as well. With a yell, the dough snapped from its bindings.

"What?! I though I had it down for sure this time," complained Konohamaru.

"Didn't use enough flour," Naruto told him. "Try more next time."

Ebisu grumbled as he picked at the dough that still remained on his shirt. "Honored Grandson, you can't lower yourself to using such childish tactics."

A swift killer intent suddenly engulfed the area. Everyone turned to its source and saw that Naruto had froze. He slowly turned around and glared and Ebisu, who swallowed and got into a defensive position. Naruto then hopped over the counter and stood beside Konohamaru.

"Childish? CHILDISH?! I'll show you just how childish my jutsu is!" he roared. He then fired a dough ball at Ebisu, which caught him in the chest and wrapped around his body twice. Ebisu struggled, pushing all of his strength into breaking the binds, but he barely moved.

But Naruto wasn't finished. **"Shadow clone jutsu!"** Two clones poofed beside Naruto, each one holding onto a ball of dough. The clones pushed the dough together and then stretched out away from the other. They walked up to Ebisu holding onto a ten-foot long stretch of dough.

Naruto walked up to the teacher pushed the dough his clones had to the dough wrapped around Ebisu's arms. He then grabbed Ebisu and pulled him forward while his clones stood their ground, using chakra to stick and keep their balance.

"If you think my jutsu is childish, you should really see this one," Naruto chuckled darkly.

Ebisu looked at his situation. Two clones were behind him, holding onto the ramen dough as it was stretched to its limit and nearly fifteen feet long. In fact, the only thing keeping it from snapping was...

Ebisu's eyes widened in shock. "Wait a minute. Think about what you're doing."

Naruto smiled. "Don't worry. I am. **Ninja Art: Ramen Slingshot!" **He let go of the dough and it snapped back to his clones.

Ebisu was knocked off his feet and was sent flying into the air. His screams faded each second as he fly farther away until he landed somewhere in the village.

"Where did you send him?" asked Teuchi, who came out of the stand to watch the flight.

A few seconds after he landed, the three heard several female screams and the distant sounds of punching.

"The women's bath house, apparently."

Naruto and Teuchi chuckled and went back to the stand. Naruto stopped when he noticed Konohamaru wasn't with him and was still standing in the street. He walked back out and grabbed his shoulder. "You ok?"

The boy shook his head. "I really thought I was going to beat him this time. That all the work we did today was going to beat him. I guess I really am weak."

"Konoh, you're not weak. You just started learning the technique and that jackass of a sensei, as much as I hate to admit, is an experienced shinobi. You just need to keep working hard and never give up. Remember, just like every ninja, you need to keep your Fire strong. Only then will you become Hokage."

Konohamaru looked up at Naruto. "Really? I can become Hokage?"

"Definitely. But remember, you're going have to beat me one day to be Hokage."

The duo smiled. "You're on, boss."

"Konohamaru!" a voice called out down the street. The two looked up to see the Third waving at them. "It's time to go home!"

"Coming!" Konohamaru called. He ran down the street after his grandfather, but not before looking at Naruto over his shoulder. "See you later, Boss!"

"Take care, Konohamaru!" Naruto waved back.

The blond watched the grandfather and grandson hug before walking away. He kept watching until he caught a scent of strawberries. A pair of slender arms wrapped around his neck and soft lips on his cheek.

"You're a great teacher, Naru-kun. A great teacher with a great heart," said Ayame.

"Thanks, Aya-chan."

* * *

_"A jinchuriki is translated as 'Human Sacrifice', meaning his life is now shared with the bond in question, whether it's a jutsu, human, or demon. The lives of two are then tied together in a symbiotic relationship. For as long as one lives, the other stays alive as well."_

_"When the host is bonded with a bijuu, or Tailed-Demon, it's a better choice if the host is a juvenile with a premature chakra network so the biju can bond with it better. An older host wouldn't work unless he or she has an enormous chakra network. Bijus are entities of pure chakra, so when it's sealed within the child, it can adjust the chakra reserves to suit both the host and the biju."_

_"The host may find himself bearing some symbols or qualities that relate to his or her prisoner, such as eyes or fangs. All jinchuriki will have a rapid healing factor along with stronger senses. They even share the same nature elements and use the same jutsu as the biju. Maybe even the same behavior. A host's emotions are tied in the biju's and times when the host is under stress, the biju's instincts and behavior can take over."_

_"But the most important article about being a jinchuriki is the chakra they share. The Dead Demon Consuming Seal is designed for the host to absorb the biju's chakra over a period of time, safely and slowly. After a course of several years, there may be a time when the host and prisoner merge completely and become one being. However, this is only a theory since a host has never lived longer than forty years." _

_"True, when a host dies, the biju dies as well. However, in certain circumstances, a host will unseal the biju from its prison, releasing it and killing the host. Why the host releases his prisoner is unknown."_

_"When sealed, the mark of jinchuriki disappears and can only be viewed when the host gathers chakra within his or her body. Altering with seal can have devastating consequences if not properly handled, such as killing both the host and the prisoner."_

_It must mean this mark_ thought Naruto as he lifted up his shirt and applied chakra to the seal. A symbol immediately appeared on his stomach. To him, it looked like a sun with a swirl in the middle. The swirl spun around his stomach four times. Around the swirl it had eight points.

I wonder what it means.

He unrolled the scroll a couple of more lengths before he got to the paragraph about the symbol.

_"The Fuin Jutsu: Dead Demon Consuming Seal is basically a sealing and summoning technique. For each complete rotation of the mark calls a stronger god from the underworld to help with the sealing. The more rotations, the stronger the god and heavier the sacrifice. Four rotations is the maximum, which calls forth the Shinigami, the Death Reaper. When he is summoned, the sacrifice must be the caster's soul, which belongs to the Shinigami for all eternity."_

_"Each star point represents each Chakra gate withing the host's body. The host and prisoner are tied by chakra, which fully seals the biju within the host. Therefore, are tied together for both their lives. This may let the jinchuriki to live for a very long time."_

"So my father is tied to the Shinigami now," growled Naruto. "I say that it is a suitable punishment for abandoning his son."

Naruto rolled the scroll back up and put it on the dresser beside his bed. He then sat back and leaned against the headboard of his bed. After picking up a book from the floor, he began reading. After about an hour, he sat the book down and pulled a small, black pouch from his bag. Naruto pulled the pouch open and pulled out his gift from Iruka.

It was an ocarina. A hollow flute carved from a block of wood. It was shaped like a potato with ten holes carved into the side. It was rounded, not narrow and straight like a regular flute. It also had a very haunting tone that Naruto enjoyed very much.

He scowled at the book Iruka got him entitled 'Ocarinas for Dummies'. Grumbling, he put the flute to his lips and began to play.

He only memorized the notes and the beat. It was one thing to memorize the notes, it was completely different to feel them. Sure, his rhythm was off and he sometimes misplaced his fingers, but for some reason, the notes calmed him down. The melody, as bad as his playing was, made him forget all about the problems he had.

When the song was over, he put down the flute and actually felt his eyelids dropping. He didn't expect to fall asleep as soon as he was done, but he couldn't help it. He just pulled off his sandles, jacket and closed his eyes. The last thought running through his mind was his new, favorite lullaby.

_Lugia's Song._

* * *

Naruto woke up more refreshed than ever. He ate breakfast, eager to begin a new day. Why? Because this was the day teams would be chosen.

He hurried to the Ramen stand, meeting all four of his friends. He got a good-luck kiss from Ayame and the group leaped across the buildings towards the academy.

"How do you think the team's will be arranged," asked Naruto.

"The usually pair up teams so each member can contribute to each other," explained Shino. "I hear it was rumored that they'll pair the top shinobi, the top konoichi, and the genin with the lowest grades together."

"Hear that, Shikamaru?" asked Hinata. "You might get paired with Sasuke and Sakura."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered. "I thought I might get paired with Choji and Ino."

"Reform the old Ino-Shika-Cho trio, huh?" asked Choji. "I kinda like that. By the way Shika, did your dad tell you what was happening?"

Shikamaru nodded, confusing everyone.

"What's going on?" asked Hinata.

Shikamaru sighed. "Our dads signed up for a team this year."

"Really?" asked Naruto happily. "That's so cool. It would nice to have Chouza or Shikaku as a sensei." They were one of the few adults who treated Naruto like a ninja.

"Says you. It would be a drag if dad became my sensei. He trains me enough as it is."

"I would like dad to be my sensei," said Choji. "I would get to spend more time with him."

The group arrived in class and took their usual seats. They arrived just in time to see the usual Ino vs. Sakura fight to get Sasuke's attention. While entertaining, it reminded them just how pathetic some of the konoich could be.

"Sit down and pay attention!" yelled Iruka from the doorway. Everyone sat up straighter and sat in their seats. When they settled down, Iruka smiled at his class.

"Today, you'll venture out with your teams. Protect yourself, your teammates, and your village with all of your strength, heart, power, and spirit. Remember, you're the heart of this village."

Iruka then raise a clipboard to his eye level. "Now, team selection. Team one will consist of...."

Naruto and his friends listened intently as Iruka named off each team member. Each one was hoping they would be at least one friend.

"Team seven will consist of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Inuzuka Kiba."

Kiba groaned, but it was barely heard over Sakura's loud claim of true love conquers all and Ino's cries of distress.

"Team eight will consist of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and Hyuga Hinata."

Naruto couldn't help but cheer for his friends as the three were paired up. He knew they would watch out for each other and be reliable ninjas.

"Team nine is still on the active roster. Team ten will consist of Yamanka Ino, Aburame Shino, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"Nooo!! Not the dummy and bug-boy!" a certain female cried, who then banged her head on the desk and began to sob.

Naruto groaned at Ino's complaint, but sent a smile at Shino, who nodded back. It would be good working with Shino, who had become a good friend over the past week. Even if he was quiet and creepy, Naruto believed that Shino and the rest of the Aburame clan were just misunderstood.

"That concludes the team listings. You now have an half hour for lunch before you meet back and be paired with your jonin senseis. Dismissed."

The class sat up and made their way outside. Some of them had already began to pair up with their teammates.

"Oh, Team 10. Stay behind for a moment," ordered Iruka.

Naruto looked towards his friends, who stayed behind to see what was going on. He waved his hand, assuring them he and Shino would be okay. They nodded and left. Naruto, Shino and Ino stepped in front of Iruka's desk.

"Tean 10, your jonin sensei has asked to meet him at training field five for your meeting. You are to meet with after your lunch is over."

Naruto and Shino's eyebrows rose. Training field 5 was the field the Hokage gave Naruto for the past few years. Now he was meeting his sensei there?

After having lunch with his team, in which Ino spent the entire time complaining about how unfair it was for her not to be placed on a team with her precious Sasuke-kun. Naruto and Shino spent their time ignoring her and talking about who their sensei might be.

When their lunch was over, Naruto sat up. "Ok, let's get going."

Shino nodded while Ino huffed. The trio then chakra-hopped their way across the rooftops, outside of the village and into the training fields.

When they arrived at Training field five/Naruto's grounds, they stopped at the sign marked '5'. This is where Naruto spent most of his time training. It was a big, open field, nearly 10 acres across with a small river running through it. They were surrounded by several acres of trees, but if they looked closely, they could see the outlines of buildings in the village.

Ino scoffed and put her hands on her hips. "Well, where's our sensei?"

Naruto wondered that as well. He did a full turn of the area when he spotted something really weird near the riverbank. He motioned to his friends at the figure. When they saw it, they all looked confused.

Naruto walked to the riverbank, he teammates following behind him. As they got closer, the figure became more clearer. They could see it was a man, lying on his back with his hands behind his head. And the closer they got, the more familiar this man became.

They were only a few meters away when Naruto stopped. His teammates stopped as well, confused. Their confusion grew when Naruto chuckled, walked and sat down a few feet from the man on his right. Naruto then stretched out on his back and laid his hands on his head. Shino observed them for a moment, confused at their actions. However, he walked up and sat down on the man's left side, only a few feet away. He then laid down on the grass and placed his arms on his chest. Ino huffed in annoyance and sat down where she was. She didn't bother to lay down, but only glare at the males who were obviously not taking this seriously.

For nearly ten minutes, no one said a word. They just enjoyed the sound of the flowing river and the wind blowing in the trees.

Then the man spoke. "You know Ino, you need to learn to enjoy the little things. Like clouds."

Ino scoffed. "Daddy always said you were a lazy shinobi. I didn't take him seriously, though but I can see it with my own eyes now."

"Well, your father can be a stuck-up, know-it-all sometimes. Like father, like daughter."

"What?" Ino squawked. Naruto and the man laughed.

"Well, we might as well get started," said the man as he sat up. Team 10 was finally able to get a good look at him. He was dressed in the usual ninja sandles and shinobi pants. He was wearing a jonin vest, but was also wearing a very torn vest underneath it and a mesh shirt. His face was covered in a few scars and had a very stern look to it, but it had a smile right now. Lastly, his hair was tied up in a familiar ponytail.

"Team 10, I'm your jonin sensei. My name is Nara Shikaku."

* * *

Well, what did you think? Did I make the choices my reader's wanted to hear?

And for everyone that made a suggestion, I thank you. You all had very good suggestions and I apologize to you for not using them.

For future references, I'll try to keep Shino and Shikaku's personality like it is in the manga/tvshow. I can't make any promises though.


	5. Genin testPart 1

Like I said in the previous chapter, I can't be sure I can match Shikaku and Shino's personality and behavior. Shino's a stoic person who speaks in a monotone voice, but has a certain charisma and intelligence I don't think I can write down. I'll try though.

Then there's Shikaku. The Nara only has a limited amount of jutsu shown in the manga/anime. So, he'll be using the same techniques as Shikamaru along with a few of my own creations. I hope nobody will be disappointed.

Now, on to the story!

* * *

"Now, the original plan was to pair up teams so each member's talents would contribute to the fullest extent of the team they were on," explained Shikaku, yawning. "This way, each team would be balanced into special teams. Some examples like a tracking team, CIA team, and powerhouse team. However, this year, we're going to try something different."

"What do you mean, Shikaku-sensei?" asked Naruto.

Shikaku groaned. "I'm not going to get used to being called that. How troublesome. What I mean is your entire class will be divided into six categories, then each student will be paired on a team with each student having a different ability."

"Six categories?" asked Ino with raised eyebrows.

"Tracking, assassination, attack, capture, medical and interrogation. Each genin in your class has at least one, if not two, of these qualities. This way, each team will be an even match for any mission we are given by the Hokage. We'll also be able to take more missions."

"What kind of team are we, sensei?" Shino asked.

"We're pretty much a combination of all, but our labeled group is TIAT: Tracking, interrogation, and attack."

Shikaku turned to Ino. "With your family's jutsu, you'll be able to see into our prisoner's mind and pull any information we're looking for. But I know how tiring that is, so we'll arrange you to have some torturing techniques as well. I know that might difficult for you, but it's a necessary asset to a ninja."

"That won't be a problem," said Naruto. "All Ino has to do is complain to the prisoner about her precious Sasuke and the guy would crack like a walnut."

Ino's eyes went white with rage and growled. Shikaku and Naruto laughed while Shino quietly chuckled.

"Good idea," said Shikaku. "But Ino, I looked at your records and found out you probably have the best chakra control of the team. If you want, I'll arrange you for you take healing jutsus at the hospital. Then, if any of our party members are injured, we won't have to retreat from our missions."

Ino nodded, but didn't say anything. Actually, she looked a little disappointed at the thought of doing more training.

Shikaku turned to Shino. "With you kikaichu insects, you'll be our tracker. Your father explained to me how your insects work so we'll be relying on you to find our enemies or destinations. Also, your father explained that if you train hard enough, you can also become an assassination shinobi as well He shared with me what you need to work on and I'll help you as best as I can at controlling you insects and chakra."

Shino nodded. To be honest, he was looking forward to his training with his new sensei.

Finally, Shikaku turned to Naruto. "Naruto, with the new jutsu you learned last week, you'll be our attack force. Your massive chakra reserves and shadow clones will be our key to a wide range of frontal attacks and if the need calls for it, covering our escapes. My son told me he taught you the basic chakra control exercises so all you need to learn is more jutsus. Ones that are not taught at the academy."

Naruto nodded, excited at the thought of learning more jutsus.

"However, you really need to work on your stealth. You have a lot of stamina, but you can be impatient and restless. I've read the reports from several chunin about your 'missions' throughout the years in the village, so you need to work on keeping quiet and waiting for the right time to strike. We'll work on that."

Naruto nodded again. He felt himself swell with pride about his pranks, but then lower at the comment about his stealth. Though he knew it was true.

"So when will we begin our missions, sensei?" Shino asked.

"Hold on, let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, let's introduce ourselves."

"What?" asked Ino.

"We're a team now. We should now a little about each other. You dreams, ambitions, fears, dislikes, and goals. Stuff like that. Be sure to tell me you all the jutsu you know as well," Shikaku said happily.

"Can you give us an example?"

"Sure. My name is Shikaku Nara. I'm a jonin for the village of the Hidden Leaf. My hobbies are cloud watching, playing shogi with my son, and hanging out with my friends, Chouza and Inoichi, at the bar. My dislikes are cloudless days and my wife nagging at me to help out around the house on my days off. My goal is to teach you three the most I can, pass leadership of my clan to my son, and spend my retirement watching the sky."

"Like that? Ok," nodded Ino.

"Why don't you go next?" Shikaku suggested.

"Me? Well, my name is Ino Yamanaka. My hobbies are picking flowers, helping my family at their shop, and ...." she trailed of before blushing.

_Chasing Sasuke _finished all three males.

"My dreams are...." she trailed off again, giggling.

_Sasuke as my boyfriend_ finished all three males.

"My dislikes are Forehead and perverts!" she shouted.

"Ooookkaaaay......and your jutsu abilities?"

Now Ino looked a little sheepish. "Well....I know all the jutsu and taijutsu they taught us at the academy. And....uh...I know my father's **Mind Body Switch Jutsu**. But....umm....that's about all I know."

Shikaku sighed. "Ino, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You're from a very prestigious clan, you should know more jutsu than that. Your father told me that he's tried to teach you the clan's fighting style along with several of his jutsus. But he said you had other plans and from you little speech just know, I think I know what you've been spending your time doing."

Ino hung her head in shame.

Her sensei's stern look turned soft a little. "But that's what I'm here for. It's my job to motivate you to become an excellent kunoichi. However, how far, will be up to you."

Ino grinned and nodded with determination.

Shikaku returned the grin and turned to Shino. "Your turn."

"My name is Shino Aburame. My hobbies are collecting rare insects for my family, training with my father and kikaichu, and......spending time with my friends."

Naruto smiled at Shino. The boy was coming out his shell and enjoyed spending time with Naruto and his friends.

"My dislikes are people who kill insects without reason, insecticide and fire. My dream's are to one day take over my clan and lead them to a time of prosperity. One where my family is brought into the light instead of hiding in the shadows." The boy felt a hand pat his shoulder. Shino turned to see Naruto and smiled slightly at the blond's friendship gesture.

"My abilities include the academy's jutsu and taijutsu. They also include my family's taijutsu style: a form of fighting that is derived from an old form of kung fu called 'Chow Gar' the Mantis style. My jutsus include tracking, making a couple of clones from my kikaichu, and a few others I'm afraid I must keep secret. At least for now."

"Fair enough," said Shikaku. "You're right along where I thought you would be. Although, your jutsus are limited only to your kikaichu. We might have to add some elemental jutsu to your arsenal once we find out what your element is."

Shino nodded. He only knew it was a matter of time before he had to learn his element.

"And our finalist," said Shikaku to Naruto.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My hobbies are pulling pranks, training, hanging out with my friends, working at my Pop's ramen stand, and spending time with my girlfriend."

Shino and Shikaku smiled at the mention of friends, which they knew the boy treasured very much, while Ino's mouth fell open in shock.

"Wait! You have a girlfriend?" asked Ino.

"Ino, let him finish," Shino interrupted.

"My dislikes are people who blame others for problems they have no control over, traitors, and anyone who threatens the people I care about. My dream is to one day become Hokage and earn the village's respect my own way."

"My abilities are everything that I was taught at the academy. I know the shadow clone jutsu and my own personal jutsus: **Ramen style**."

Shikaku chuckled. "The Hokage and Iruka informed me what happened last week. I heard that bind of yours is deadly and your slingshot is accurate. I may have to watch my back when we spar. Also, with your abilities, you might be the key person in capturing our opponents."

"Ramen jutsu? That sounds pretty stupid to me," scoffed Ino.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Maybe you'll find out."

"Ok, Ok, calm down," said Shikaku. Then his face turned serious. "Now, it's time to get on with the real deal."

"Yes, sir!" exclaimed Naruto. "What will be our first mission, sensei?"

"You will not be going on a missions right now. In fact, you will have one final test just to see if you are worthy of becoming shinobi of the Leaf. Sort of a...test to become genin."

"What?" Ino squawked. "We already passed to become genin. Whey do we need to be tested again?"

"I'm afraid that was a test to see who actually qualified to be shinobi, Ino," Shikaku explained. "This test will decide who will become actually genin, seeing that the council only wanted nine applicants on the active roster. Everyone else will return at the academy for more training."

"So only three teams will pass," stated Shino.

"Correct. All tests will be given tomorrow. It's noon, so you three have until 8:00 AM, when your test begins to prepare. Get a good, light breakfast eaten, bring all of your ninja tools, and be here at this field on time to take your test."

"What will be our test, sensei?" asked Shino.

"I will tell you when the time comes," said Shikaku. He stood up and brushed the grass of his legs. "I wish you all the best of luck. Because as troublesome as it is, I would actually like to see what you kids would due under my tutelage." With that, he shunshined away.

Team 10 was silent for a moment before Ino stood up, brushed off her skirt and began to walk off.

"Ino, where are you going?" asked Naruto.

"If I hurry, I can try to catch Sasuke-kun going home. If the tests are tomorrow, his team might be getting out."

Naruto sighed, jumped up and leaped in front of Ino, blocking her path. "Ino, I think Shikaku-sensei gave us this time to form a plan for tomorrow."

"What makes you say that?" Ino asked skeptically. "He said that only nine applicants are going to pass. We will when he gives us our test for tomorrow."

"And I asked if three teams were going to pass," pointed out Shino. "Three teams, not nine applicants."

"Shikaku-sensei agreed with Shino, whether it was intentional or by accident," said Naruto. "If they wanted nine applicants to pass, they would have paired us individually with a jonin sensei and tested us one-on-one."

"Instead they put us in teams. The council and academy would not put us in teams of three if they didn't want us to pass as a team," finished Shino.

"And besides, I don't think Shikaku-sensei would make us learn about each other if he didn't want us bond as a team," added Naruto.

Ino put her hands on her hips. "Ok, let's say for one moment I agree with you two. What do we do now?'

"We train," answered Naruto. "We form several, different battle strategies to prepare for whatever Shikaku-sensei has planned for us tomorrow. That way, we'll be prepared for whatever he's got for us."

"It will most likely be some type of strategy that will relate to our team," suggested Shino.

"Shino's got a point. We need to find a way in which our abilities will attribute one another. Sensei said we are a combination of all categoires, so we should find of ways of combining them."

Shino and Naruto started at Ino, waiting for her answer. After a minute of silence, she shook her head in resignation.

"Fine. Where to we begin?"

Naruto smiled. "I think we should begin on sparring, just to see how far we are in our fighting abilities. Then, we'll work on creating combo attacks with our jutsus and form strategies on how and when to use them."

"So, who spars first," asked Ino.

Naruto's smile turned dark as he pulled a ball of dough from his pocket and begin to toss it around.

"Ino my dear, you said something about my style being stupid?" asked Naruto sweetly.

* * *

"EEEWWWWW! It's in my hair! Get it out!" whined Ino as she pulled out clumps of ramen dough out of her blonde locks.

It was several hours later; the sun was beginning to set and bath the grounds with an orange glow. Team 10 finished their training and was now walking through town, hopeful that their work was not a waste.

They spared to find out who was the strongest fighter, which turned out to be a tie between Shino and Naruto. Ino was an average fighter with great speed and flexibility, but not enough stamina. Shino was a more seasoned fighter having trained with his father since he was a boy. But he relied too much on his kikaichu insects instead of his mantis style. Naruto had stamina, strength, and speed. However, he was limited only to what he learned in the academy. Iruka tried to give him as much coaching as he could, but Iruka didn't have a definitive style either.

Then they showed each other their jutsus. Like she said, Ino was limited only her father's mind possession technique. Shino's capabilities were mostly linked to his insects. Such techniques were creating clones with them, forming a protective dome around himself, and using them to swarm his opponent and drain their energy. Naruto's techniques ranged from his newly, developed Shadow clones, Noodle bind, and his Ramen Slingshot. He also showed them a new one he was working on, which worked, but had unusual results.

"I'm going to get you for this," Ino grumbled again. She finally got the clump she was working on and began working on another.

"Sorry about that, Ino," Naruto apologized. "But you did deserve it."

"The hell I did!" yelled Ino angrily. "And I still think your style is ridiculous!"

Naruto sighed and kept walking. Even if his style was a little childish, he was taking this more seriously than Ino. Throughout their practice, all she did was complain about missing the time she could be spending with Sasuke. Naruto and Shino had just about had it.

But then Naruto's mood changed when he saw Ichiraku's and Team 8 sitting on the chairs. He walked into the stand with Shino right behind and the two sat in the remaining chairs.

"You've become a bad influence on us, Naruto," Shikmaru muttered as he drank a cup of tea. "For some odd reason, I can't seem to end my day without at least a hour of cloud watching on my family's roof and having a meal here. It's very troublesome."

"You know you like it," Choji mumbled through a mouthful of noodles. "It's like our unofficial rule."

"I also enjoy it," smiled Hinata. "It's the only place I can feel like I belong."

Everyone's mood shifted when she said that. They knew the problems she had at home trying to convince her father and clan she was a good shinobi.

"You belong anywhere your friends are," said Teuchi as he put a bowl of ramen in front of Shino and Naruto. "That's where your true place is."

"Believe it," Naruto added, causing everyone to groan/chuckle.

"Hey!" cried Ino from outside the stand. "Where am I supposed to sit?"

Naruto had completely forgotten about Ino. He thought she would go straight home or find out where Sasuke was. She just stood silently outside with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"Sorry about that, Ino. Here take my seat," Naruto offered. He picked up his bowl and went behind the counter to sit on the spare Teuchi had.

Ino sat down. "So this is the ramen stand you work at," she said. "I got to say, it doesn't look like much."

Naruto glared at her while Teuchi just chuckled. "I know we're not the glamorous place to eat in Konoha, but offer the best ramen you could find anywhere," Teuchi said happily. "And I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Even the Sandaime eats here," Shino said, hoping to encourage Teuchi's business. He had grown very fond of the place.

"I'll believe that when I see him here, in the flesh," Ino scoffed. She then scowled at the ramen everyone was eating. "Personally, I don't see how anyone could eat that stuff. It's fattening, unhealthy, and does nothing for your figure."

"So?" all the kids chorused.. Everyone there ate healthily and smart. No one besides Naruto and Choji at more than a bowl a day. Shikamaru mostly just drank the green tea Teuchi served, Hinata ate riceballs that the stand had begun to serve, and Shino just came for a bowl and to spend time with his friends.

Ino just sighed loudly and crossed her arms. She then looked around the stand. "So where's this girlfriend of yours, Naruto?"

"She's out making a delivery," answered Teuchi.

"She's done with the delivery," said Ayame as she walked under the curtains. "Hello everyone."

"Hi, Ayame!" everyone answered back.

Ayame walked behind the counter and placed the delivery bag onto the counter. She then kissed Naruto on the cheek, who smiled back at her.

"You're Naruto's girlfriend?" Ino asked in shock. The brunette, to Ino, was very pretty. She couldn't believe a girl like this liked Naruto.

"Oh, you must be Naru-kun's new teammate," smiled Ayame. She stood behind Naruto and placed her chin on his shoulder. "My name is Ayame and yes, I'm his girlfriend."

"Naruto is the biggest goofball in our class. How can you like him? You're so pretty and...well...old," reasoned Ino.

Time pretty much just froze as Naruto's friends stopped whatever they were doing with a look of horror on their faces. Teuchi's jaw dropped and he inched away from his daughter. Naruto just rolled his eyes at Ino's stupidity.

The amount of killer intent flooding the stand was enough to smother everyone. If they weren't ninjas, they would have probably run away in fear. In fact, several civilians outside had mysteriously vanished at Ino's words.

"Old?" Ayame said sweetly. Shino, who was a very calm and collected person when in danger, actually grabbed his stool and began to hop away from Ino. "I'll have you know that I'm only sixteen. And I would appreciate it that you shut your mouth, _princess_, before you lose all the teeth inside it."

Ino glared at Ayame. "That's a lot of talk coming from a waitress. Why don't you put on your apron and be a good little-"

THWAWK!!

Ayame's trusty cleaver was halfway into the counter. Ino looked at and swallowed, but tried to keep the glare on her face.

"The next time I swing this, it's going to cut through the pretty ponytail of yours, _princess_. And I never miss."

The two girls just glared at each other, one with full confidence while the other's was fading. After a few seconds, Ino got up and walked to the curtains. But she turned around just before she walked out.

"I still don't believe your Naruto's girlfriend. There's now way the idiot could grab a girl like you."

Ayame stared at her a moment before whirling around, grabbing Naruto by his jacket, and placed a very passionate kiss on his lips. Everyone's mouth dropped open in surprise. Teuchi dropped his spatula, Hinata's rice ball fell out of her hands, Choji dropped his chopsticks, Shikamaru lost the grip on his cup, and Shino's glasses fell to the tip of his nose.

After about ten seconds, Ayame finally let a dazed, but happy Naruto go. She took a deep breath and whipped the hair out her eyes.

"That's because I grabbed him," she smirked at Ino.

The blond girl gapped like a fish before spinning on her heel and storming out of the stand. Everyone inside looked at each other before laughing.

"Oh, man, that was priceless," gasped Shikamaru between breaths.

* * *

For the next couple of hours, everyone just talked about their teams. Shikamaru groaned, but grinned slightly, when he heard Team 10 got his father as a sensei. He told Naruto and Shino that if they pass tomorrow, they'll be working hard for the rest of their genin years, despite the fact Shikaku could be just as lazy as his son.

Team 8's sensei ended up being a woman name Kurenai Yuhi, a kunoichi who had mastered the genjutsu arts. Shikamaru kept muttering about how troublesome it was to know have two women ordering him around: his mom and now his sensei. Hinata, who had really like her teacher, told the lazy ninja that if he didn't straighten up around her, he'll have three women ordering him around.

Shikamaru just gaped while everyone else applauded Hinata, who blushed brightly but grinned.

When it was time to close up and his friends had already gone home, Naruto volunteered to clean up by himself.

"Pops, Ayame, you guys go ahead and go home. I'll use my clones to clean up."

"Are you sure?" asked Teuchi.

Naruto formed a few hand signs and five clones poofed beside him. Once they formed, they immediately started cleaning and packing ingredients. The original smiled at the Ichiraku's

"I think I'll be okay," replied Naruto.

Teuchi looked around before bursting in tears. He hugged the boy he always thought of as a son.

"I never been more proud of you," cried Teuchi. "With your clones, who needs to me, you, or Ayame to clean up. You can do it all from now on."

Naruto frowned, but patted Teuchi on the back.

_He's proud of me because he doesn't have to work? Is that normal?_

Teuchi let go and began to walk back to his house, rubbing the tears from his eyes. "Don't forget to lock up," he called as he walked away.

Ayame shook her head at her father. "Don't listen to him, Naruto. He's had to clean the stand every single night for the past, so he believes that this is a sign from a higher power."

"What about you? Are you proud of me?"

Ayame hugged the boy and kissed his cheek. "I've always been proud of you."

Naruto smiled and hugged her back. But she suddenly let go and began following her dad.

"Thanks for the night off, Naru-kun!" she called out cheerfully.

Naruto was stunned for a few moments before he shook his head and grinned. "Girls. Who can figure them out?"

While his clones worked, he pulled out Teuchi's record book and began to balance the day's register. He frowned at the losses, which were beginning to grow again. He saw that the money from Mizuki's capture had helped for a moment, but was now back to its original losses.

He had just began to finish the last record when he heard the bell attached to one of curtains ring.

"I'm sorry, but we're closed," Naruto said without looking up.

"I'm afraid we're not here to order something," said an old, authoritve voice. One belonging to a man. "We're here to discuss your future."

Naruto froze a moment before slowly looking up. There were two figures standing near the counter. One was a man wearing a blue kimono with a white, long-sleeved jacket over it. A short, gray beard covered his stern face and was wearing a pair of green glasses. The other figure was a woman, dressed in a light, gray kimono, an orange sash and a dark, gray jacket similar to the man's. Her hair was tied up on top her head with two small buns.

He recognized them as the Sandaime's old teammates.

Naruto stood up and bowed in respect, despite the tension he was beginning to feel. "Homura-sama and Koharu-sensei. I'm honored that you've come here to Ichiraku's, though I'm deeply sorry that I don't have anything to serve you with. If you can give me a few moments, I can heat some herbal tea."

Homura began to say something when Koharu interrupted him. "That will be fine, Naruto-san. We can wait."

Naruto nodded, dispatched his clones, and then created three new ones to make the tea. While they waited, Naruto finished his records and wrote the latest low number for their income. He sighed and set the book aside, just as one of his put two, steaming mugs of tea in front of the two elders. As they grasped their cups, the clones dispelled themselves.

"So, what can a genin of Konoha do for the advisors of the Hokage?"

Koharu took a sip and put it back down on the counter. "Naruto-san, you are much more than a genin. You're the last symbol of hope for this village."

Naruto knew what they were talking about, but decided to play dumb. "I have no idea what you mean, Koharu-sensei."

"You know what we mean!" snapped Homura, banging his cup on the counter and sloshing tea on it. "Stop acting like a blind fool, Naruto Namikazee!"

Naruto felt his temper rise, but didn't let it get to him. "Homura-sama, as I told the Hokage, I'm not going to accept the name of the man who sealed the Kyuubi in his own son. He turned me into a weapon that would serve the village like a faithful soldier."

"Are you saying you won't be faithful?" asked Homura angrily.

"I will never betray my village," growled Naruto. "I'll protect it, my family, and my friends with my dying breath. But do you know what I've had to live through before I met the people I care about? I was more alone than you could possible imagine. I had no one except the Third Hokage as a friend. And to this very day, I'm still looked at as the demon that attacked the village twelve years ago instead of an orphan who lost his parents."

"Accepting your true name could change that," Koharu said gently.

"I highly doubt the whole village would accept me as the son of the Fourth Hokage. And even it did, don't you think the Fourth's enemies would realize his legacy survived and would want to take revenge on the village once again."

"By learning your father's secrets, you could prevent that. His archives and library at his estates contain several of the most powerful jutsus every created," persuaded Homura. "Then, with his jutsu at your and the village's disposal, you can strike fear into your enemies and guarantee your position as Hokage."

"If I'm going to become Hokage, I'm going to do it my way," said Naruto. "Through my own power and will, not by names. Also, even I accept his legacy, I would only put the village in more danger."

Homura sighed. "Don't you understand how important your father was?"

"I know," said Naruto. "I will say this. The Fourth Hokage was an extraordinary man, a powerful shinobi, and a hero to this village. But he condemned me to a hard life. He decided my fate when he sealed the biju in me. I was only a newborn and yet, he knew my life was going to more difficult than any other person."

Homura began to say something else, but Koharu put a hand on his arm to silence him. Then she turned to Naruto.

"I think it's about time we left. I'm sorry to have bothered you so late in the evening when you still have your genin test to take tomorrow." Koharu put several coins on the counter, more than enough for their tea. "Good luck."

Naruto bowed to them as they left. It hadn't been a pleasant conversation, but it could've been worse.

Homura stepped back into the streets and walked away. Koharu lifted the curtain, but then turned back to Naruto.

"To be honest, Naruto-san, I agree with you. What you're father did was not the best course of action. But please ask yourself one question: What would you do in his position? After all, when you become Hokage, you'll have to make such decisions."

Before he could answer, she left.

Naruto finished his work and locked the stand. He walked home, thinking about his team's strategies for tomorrow. He played Lugia's song to help calm his mind so he could sleep easier. However, his mind still buzzed with Koharu's question.

_What would you do?_

* * *

Naruto got up early the next day so he could prepare for his test. He packed his shuriken, kunai, explosive tags, some ninja wire, and, of course, ramen dough. His holsters were strapped to his right leg while two pouches were strapped to his waist. Each zippered pouch carried about five pounds of dough. He hoped it was enough.

A few stretches, a quick breakfast, then he chakra-hopped to his training grounds. He arrived with twenty minutes to spare.

Just a minute later, Shino hopped into the clearing as well.

"Good morning, Naruto," Shino greeted.

"Hiya, Shino. Ready for today?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"More or less," answered Shino. "Is everything in place?"

Naruto patted his pockets, where his dough was kept. "Ready. Are your...ummm?"

"They're in place."

"Do I want to know where mine is?"

"No."

"Good."

"What are you two talking about?" asked Ino as she walked up to them. Her eyebrow was arched in suspicion.

"Nothing," said Shino and Naruto. Ino huffed and sat down on the grass with her arms crossed. Naruto glanced at Shino. "She's going to kill us when she finds out."

"Most likely," agreed Shino.

The three waited patiently for 8:00 and for their sensei to arrive. Shino and Naruto were going over each battle strategy. They tried to get Ino in, but she just scoffed and went back to staring at the landscape.

At 8, Shikaku showed landed just a few meters away. Ino sat up and the boys quit talking.

"Good morning everyone," yawned Shikaku.

"Good morning, sensei," chorused Team 10.

Their sensei spent the next moments yawning and stretching his back. "As troublesome as it is, we have to get started on our test to see how well you three qualify as shinobi instead of spending such a nice day like this watching clouds float by."

"So what will our test be, sensei?" asked Naruto.

"A simple one," smiled Shikaku. He held his arms wide open. "Your test is simply to capture me."

Team 10 stood stock-still before Ino exploded.

"WHAT? Capture you? What kind test is that?"

"I'll explain. The village will accept only the elite of genin into their roster. Nine teams for formed, nine applicants will be selected. Your task is to capture me, a jonin, to the best of your abilities. The one who captures me will be selected into the active roster while the other two will be sent back to the academy for more remedial training."

Shikaku dropped his arms. "To make it interesting, I want you to capture me dead or alive. Use all of your weapons and ninja tools, because I want you to come at me with the intent to kill."

"But that could be very dangerous! You could get killed!"

"Maybe," sighed Shikaku. "If I get killed by you three, then I deserve it. It shows how soft I've gotten."

"So just capture you," Naruto said simply.

Shikaku nodded. "You three have until noon. By that time, if none of you have capture me, all of you will be sent back to the academy."

Ino stiffened while Naruto and Shino did nothing. The two just stared at Shikaku with determination in their eyes.

"I will not step outside the boundary of training field 5, so that gives you another advantage. However, when you attack, I will fight back. I should also warn you, I won't go easy on you either."

"Now go!"

Team 10 hopped away and hid in the shadows surrounding the small field they were previously in. Shikaku smiled at their abilities.

_Well, not bad. They know how to conceal themselves well. Now, let's see how this plays out._

* * *

Naruto waited on the branch of a tree, watching his sensei walk around the training field, who was watching the sky. To a civilian, it looked like the man was just taking a stroll while cloud gazing. But the blond could see Shikaku's eyes dart back and forth across the field. It was quick, but enough for a trained shinobi.

The boy knew what his sensei was trying to do. He made it so obvious when he was trying to hide it. They were meant to pass this test as a team. The Hokage and academy wouldn't pair three students together only break them up the next day. Team 10 was formed under specific circumstances because their abilities would make them a strong team, because they would benefit themselves and the village.

Naruto felt the branch he was standing on slightly shake. He turned around to see Shino perched near the trunk.

"So what do you think?" asked Naruto.

"Like we said, it's about teamwork," nodded Shino.

Naruto nodded back. "Let's go find Ino and try to convince her to work together."

Shino suddenly froze, then groaned. Naruto looked at him skeptically.

"We're too late," Shino said, pointing to the field. Naruto followed his gaze and groaned as well.

"Let's do this," Ino called out to her sensei. She got into the basic defense stance taught at the academy. "If I can capture a jonin, I can rub in Forehead's face that I'm a better kunoichi for Sasuke-kun's love."

Shikaku, meanwhile, ignored her and continued to watch the sky. He chuckled. "That one looks like a duck."

Ino's eyes went white. "HEY! Pay attention! I'm trying to fight you!"

Shikaku sighed and turned to Ino, not bothering to fight back. "Ino, have nearly three and a half hours before the test is up. Why are you engaging me now when you could wait for a better opportunity."

"All you've been doing is cloud watching for the past half hour! When are you going to prepare yourself?"

"When it's you, I don't think I need to be prepared," smirked Shikaku and crossed his arms. "I think the result will be the same. After all, your dad couldn't lay a hit on me so why should you?"

Ino froze for a second before charging her sensei with rage in her eyes. "You're DEAD!" she cried. She threw a punch at her Shikaku, who back his head the slightest. It was just enough to miss by mere centimeters.

Ino used the momentum to use a front kick at his stomach. Shikaku leaned his head forwards, sucking his gut back. Again, she missed by centimeters. Ino spun and swung a roundhouse kick to his head, but was once again dodged.

Frustrated, Ino increased the speed of her attacks in hopes to land a hit, but her coordination became wild and unbalanced. And each, Shikaku would make only the slightest motion to dodge, duck or dip. He barely moved from his spot and didn't even uncross his arms the whole time Ino was attacking him.

It wasn't long before Ino exhausted herself. Cursing, she leapt back near the edge of the forest. Ino reached into her holster and threw several shurikin stars at Shikaku.

However, instead of dodging or blocking them, the jonin just smirked and plucked the stars right out of the air. Ino's mouth fell open in surprise.

"Nice try, Ino, but not good enough. You let yourself get frustrated, in which you were blinded by your anger." He took a few steps forward, where Ino took several steps back. "First lesson of being a shinobi: Taijutsu. You've just been tested and I must say, you showed more talent than I thought so."

Ino back up into a tree, but didn't take her eyes of her teacher. Shikaku threw Ino's shuriken at her. They impacted next to her shirt, her forearm sleeves, and her skirt. The stars were embedded halfway into the tree, pinning her to it. She struggled, but couldn't get free.

"Now get ready for lesson number two," said Shikaku as appeared only a meter away from Ino. He looked into her eyes and held the 'Ram' symbol with his hands.

Ino froze. Her vision was suddenly filled with blowing leaves. She felt her eyelids get heavy. The more leaves appeared, the more Shikaku began to disappear. Finally, she closed her eyes.

* * *

Naruto and Shino watched as Ino's head dropped. Once she was unconcious, Shikaku unfolded his hands and leapt into the trees. He completely disappeared from their sight.

A few seconds later, Ino began to stir and wake up. She looked around, confused, before looking up. They saw her freeze, her face pale.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Naruto.

"I think Shikaku-sensei put her under a genjutsu," answered Shino. "Which means he must still be close by."

"But what is she seeing?"

* * *

There were three hornet nests above her head. Three giant nests. She already saw a few red hornets fly from the hive when she slightly shook the tree earlier. Each one was the size of her fist and had stingers that were bigger than the teeth on her combs. The sounds of dozens of wings was beginning to fill her head and block out any other sound.

As every second passed, another hornet would fly out of a hive and another would fly closer to her face. Ino tried to keep very still, but by now, she was beginning to hyperventilate. Her breaths increased when she felt the wind from on the wings beating on her face.

"KAI!" a voice called out. Immediately, the hornets and hives disappeared. Ino looked to see Naruto and Shino standing in front of her. Shino had his hands in 'Tiger' symbol.

"Ino, are you okay," Naruto asked as he pulled the shuriken the pinned her to the tree.

Ino didn't respond, instead she fell down. Very hard.

"Ino, are you okay?"

"Hornets....hornets," she kept mumbling as she rocked back and forth, holding her knees.

"Shikaku-sensei must have put a **Nightmare Genjutsu** on her," explained Shino. "I've heard about. It forces the victim to encounter their worst, physical fear." He looked at the girl still shivering. "The jutsu has a few levels of strength and horror. Sensei's must have been only level 1. It's enough to freeze someone for a few minutes."

"We need every second, Shino," argued Naruto. He got down on one knee and grabbed Ino's shoulders. "Ino, snap out of it. We need to get a move on."

Ino kept stock still as Naruto shook her. She only kept mumbling.

"It's no use, Naruto. She'll stay like that until the adrenaline runs out of her system. There's now way to....." Shino trailed off when he saw Naruto begin to smirk. "I see why Hinata and the others begin to sweat when you get that look."

"Watch this," giggled Naruto. He remembered one of Ino and Sakura's arguments and believed he could use it. He leaned his face close to Ino's. "Sasuke's mine, Ino-pig!"

Ino jerked and her eyes, filled with fear, suddenly became filled with rage. "No way, Forehead!" she yelled and threw a right hook. Naruto, surprised by Ino's snap into reality, caught the punch with his jaw and flew back several meters.

Ino frowned and began to look around, confused. "What happened?"

"You were put under a genjutsu," explained Shino as he watched Naruto pick himself up and rub his swollen jaw. "With the way your were mumbling, I'm guessing 'hornets'."

Ino nodded, looking solemn. "I once stepped on a nest when I was picking flowers for my family's shop. I received dozens of stings and had to be sent to the hospital. Since then, I freeze whenever one is around. Now matter if its one or a hive."

Naruto walked up, holding his jaw. "Sorry about that, Ino. I had to snap you out of your daze. But what you did earlier was stupid."

Earlier, Ino would've squawked and tried to pound the boy to a pulp. But now, after being thoroughly defeated by their sensei with such ease, she knew he was right.

"I know. But only of us is going to pass so I had to do something. I won't lose."

Naruto sighed. "Ino, remember what we talked about yesterday? We were paired as a team because the village needs a workable team to protect it. We were paired because the Hokage believes our skills would benefit the village and make us a strong team."

"But..."

"We're not meant to pass as individuals only to be paired up once again," said Shino. "Shikaku-sensei organized this test to see if we have what it makes to put aside our differences and work together We're stronger together than we are apart."

Ino hugged her body and walked away from the boys. Naruto began to walk after her, but Shino grabbed his arm, stopping him. Naruto then realized Shino was right. Ino needed to figure this out for herself. They couldn't force her to do this.

For several minutes, Ino just stared into the forest where their sensei dwelled, waiting for them. She always wanted to be a shinobi to impress her father, Inoichi. He always wanted a son in hopes that he would carry on her family's clan name. But when she was born and her mother couldn't have anymore children, her father was devastated. So she asked him to join the academy when she was old enough. Inoichi was against it, while her mother supported her decision. In the end, he finally agreed.

But the more she studied, the more she wanted to win the affections of the top student: Sasuke Uchiha. She did it for love, but also to compete with Sakura. And the more she became a compatible kunoichi, the more her father realized his mistake and wanted to teach his daughter his clan's techniques.

However, Ino refused and wanted only to win Sasuke's affection.

Now, she realized her mistake. She was easily defeated. Even though her opponent was a jonin, she should have put up a better fight. She was blinded by anger when she should have been calm and collected.

She took a deep breath and turned to her teammates.

"Okay. Where do we begin?" she asked with a determined look.

Naruto smiled. "That's the spirit." He turned to Shino. "Do you know where sensei is?"

Shino nodded. "My insects already know his location."

Ino was shocked. "How?"

"During our meeting earlier, I placed a female kikaichu onto his body," Shino explained. He held out one finger, which a single kikaichu was perched on. "This is a female, like the one I place on Shikaku-sensei. She excretes a chemical that lures all of the males to her. This way, I can find sensei within a 50-mile radius."

"That's brilliant," beamed Ino. "But what do we do now?"

"Remember our plans from yesterday?" asked Naruto with smile.

* * *

I'm sorry to have ended the chapter like this. I'll continue the genin test within the next one. Also, I don' think this was the greatest chapter I've written. If it has bad reviews, I may rewrite it. I believe I created a lot of points in my story that don't exist in the canon. But then again, when do us writers care about sticking with the true story.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Tell me what you think.

Ps, Lugia's song has nothing to do with pokemon. I just thought it was a nice ocarina touch. I will include some zelda songs as well.


	6. Genin test Part 2

1 When Shikaku felt his genjutsu dispel, he opened his eyes and sat up on the tree branch he was taking a quick nap on. From his spot, he could see Naruto and Shino trying to encourage Ino to get out of her stupor she was in. A smile grew on his face when he saw his students begin to get serious. He turned and chakra-hopped through the treetops towards the north end of the training field.

_Now things will get troublesome._

* * *

After a quick review of their plans, Shino led they way through the trees. The chemicals excreting from the female placed on Shikaku was telling his queen and males that Shikaku was traveling north.

"This way," Shino said to his teammates. He veered a little to his left and jumped through the treetops. Naruto and Ino turned and followed in his direction.

"How close are we?" asked Naruto.

"Sensei is half a kilometer ahead of us. You two should break off now and prepare for the plan."

"Right," said Ino and Naruto. They broke away from Shino and got into their positions.

Shino, meanwhile, continued forward to the destination his female kikaichu was telling him. A few more hops and he ended up in a small clearing surrounded by a ring of trees. They casted several shadows across the small area with the sun still rising in the east. And there, lying on his back looking at the sky, was Shikaku.

"Hello, sensei," said Shino casually. He raised his arms, letting his insects flow out of his sleeves. Once they exited, they hovered around his head, buzzing up a storm.

"Clever, Shino. Very clever," said Shikaku, who sat up slowly and brushed the dirt from his pants. "You're the decoy while your teammates get in position to attack. Your insects, as loud as they are, are to provide cover so I can't hear them sneak up on me."

Shino raised an eyebrow in surprise. He knew it couldn't be this easy to sneak up on his sensei, but he could hope.

"The question is how are you going to approach this?"

"Like this," answered Shino. He sent his insects forwards. Half his swarm shot forward like arrows towards his teacher.

Shikaku waited until the last moment before dodging the swarm by leaping over them. He landed on the other side of the field, but dodged again when the swarm changed direction and flew towards him, this time from above. Shikaku shunshined and appeared on the other end of the field, causing the insects to follow him.

When his teacher landed, Shino sent the rest of his insects towards his teacher's blind side. But before they could reach him, Shikaku ran through a couple of handsigns, finally ending in the tiger seal.

**"Ninja Art: Shadow Barrier Jutsu!"** he yelled. Instantly, a dark haze erupted from Shikaku's feet and spread out around him.

Shino's insects continued to fly until they stopped still a meter away from his teacher. A few insects fell to the ground, crushed. Several continued to fly, even though they hovered against an invisible force. All the rest flew back to there host.

"A barrier," stated Shino. He then noticed where his teacher was standing. "By standing in the shadow of the tree, you have used its shadow to enforce a shield around you."

"I could create a barrier from my own shadow, but by using the shadows of the trees, I can increase the size and strength of my shield," explained Shikaku. "Normally, with my chakra capacity, I could summon a shield that would last five minutes straight and could stop anything below a B-grade technique. However, with the trees, I can increase the time to half a hour and withstand anything below A-grade jutsus."

"And physical attacks?"

"As your insects found out, my barrier is impenetrable to physical attacks. You would need Chouza Akimichi's strength to break through my shield."

"Good thing I'm inside!" yelled a voice. Shikaku spun around to see Naruto drop from the hidden branches, aiming an axe kick towards his teacher's head. Shikaku brought both his arms up, crossing them and blocking the kick. The shadow user cursed his carelessness. His barrier formed around him, not from him. Naruto must have already been within a few meters when he performed the jutsu

Once Shikaku made contact with Naruto, his concentration was broken and his barrier was shattered. He immediately heard the buzzing from Shino's insects behind him. Shikaku kicked Naruto in the stomach and flipped backwards over the swarm, landing back into the clearing.

Naruto slammed into a tree and popped in a cloud of smoke.

"Shadow clones," stated Shikaku. "What a drag."

"You think that's bad," said several voices hiding in the shadows. "What till you see this!" A dozen clones of Naruto burst through the foliage. Each one charged at Shikaku with a kunai in their hands.

"Crap," muttered Shikaku. He leapt into the air and kicked two in their heads. They disappeared, but two more emerged from the smoke with their fists drawn back. Shikaku ducked under their punches, then jumped straight up with two uppercuts to their chins. Once they disappeared, two more leapt through the smoke with a high jump kick. Shikaku, while still in the air from the uppercuts, spun his body around and swung his leg in a horizontal arc.

"**Konoha Leaf Hurricane!"** Shikaku yelled. His kick ripped through the clones like they were nothing. He landed on the ground as the rest of clones surrounded him.

"What kind of move was that?" asked one of the surprised clones.

Shikaku just grinned_. I've got to thank Gai for teaching me that. _But then he heard buzzing.

"**Swarm**," called Shino and brought his hands down in a slicing motion.

Shikaku stood his ground, waiting for the opportune moment. When he felt the wind from the insect's winds, he made his move. The standard move for a graduating genin: Substitution jutsu. With one of Naruto's clones.

"Gaah!" yelled the clone as he was suddenly swarmed. A few seconds off futilely fighting them off before the clone popped when the insects absorbed its chakra.

Shikaku smirked at the five remaining clones. "Next?"

Each clone threw their kunais. Shikaku pulled out his own kunai and blocked them with ease, each one falling harmlessly to the ground. He then sheathed the knife and put his hand in the ram seal.

**"Ninja Art: Shadow Weaving Jutsu**."(1)

His shadow stretched into four different points and raced across the ground towards the clones. In an instant, the four shadow points rose off the ground like snakes and struck the clones right in the chests. They popped into smoke.

The shadows receded, leaving the real one standing face to face with his teacher.

"Whoa..." whispered Naruto. After all the skills his teachers showed in the academy, he was very impressed by what a jonin was capable of.

"Step three of a shinobi: Ninjitsu. What's your next move?" asked Shikaku.

"This," smiled Naruto.

The next thing Shikaku knew, there were five bangs and the kunai the clones threw at him earlier had now transformed into five shadow clones. Caught by surprise, Shikaku immediately got on guard but it was too late. Four clones each grabbed a limb while the fifth clone grabbed him in a full-nelson.

"Now Ino!" yelled Naruto. The girl landed beside him with her hands in her family's seal.

**"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"** she called out before falling over and being caught by Naruto.

Shikaku's eyes closed as Ino entered his mind. After a moment, Ino's spirit merged his body and she opened her/his eyes. The first thing she saw was herself. Her helpless body held by.....Shikaku?!?!

She looked down to find herself wearing a dark, gray jacket with black shorts. She integrated her body with Naruto's while Shikaku used a Substitution Jutsu with Naruto's real body.

"Nice try, Ino," smirked her sensei. "But after training with your father all these years, you don't think I would know how to dodge that move. Also, thanks to your inexperience, your spirit was shot out of your body about ¾ slower than his."

"Quit bringing my father into this!" yelled Ino with Naruto's voice.

Shikaku gently lowered Ino's body onto the ground then rose back up. "I must admit, this a very thought out plan, you three. I'm impressed." He turned and began to walk away. "But you still haven't caught me yet. And you have two and a half hours left."

Shino raised his arms and directed his thoughts to his insects in attacking their teacher. But before they reached him, he disappeared with a shunshin.

Ino sighed and jerked her arms out of the clones's grip. Then she remembered where she was.

"EEEWW!!! I'M IN NARUTO'S BODY!!" she screamed with horror.

* * *

Shikaku chuckled when he heard Ino screech. He was currently heading east, towards the more heavily, wooded area of training ground. It was a place where he could really test their abilities.

* * *

After Ino got back into her body, Naruto began to rub his arms furiously as he tried to scrub off any cooties he got.

"Whoa, that was real freaky," he muttered.

"I'm scarred for life," Ino said shakily as she rocked back and forth, holding her knees.

"You two quit being dramatic," Shino said. "We're still in the middle of a test. We need to get moving."

"Right," agreed Naruto. "Which way is sensei heading?"

"East."

"Ok, let's get going....whoa," Ino said trying to sit up. But before she could stand up straight, she fell back down.

"Ino, are you ok?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know, I just feel really weak right now," she said.

Naruto and Shino dropped down beside her. "Did you use too much chakra with your jutsu," asked Shino.

"No, I should have plenty left. I don't know what's wrong," said Ino. There were a few moments of silence before a loud grumble came from Ino's stomach.

Naruto's eyebrows rose. "Uhh....Ino...did you eat breakfast this morning?"

Ino suddenly blushed. "Yes...one hard-boiled egg and a half cup of grapes."

Shino's eyebrow rose. "Ino, when Shikaku said we should have a light breakfast, I'm pretty sure he meant something a little more filling."

"We need as much energy as we can so we can keep moving," explained Naruto. "Why did you eat so light?"

Ino sighed. "I didn't think being a kunoichi would so strenuous. My dad and his stories; he made it sound so easy. So I spent my time dieting so I could be more athletic. I figured if I ate too much, it would only slow me down." She was silent for a moment before lowering her head. "I also thought it would make me more pretty."

Naruto sighed and pulled a small package from his pocket. "Here, Ino. It's an energy bar, specially made to restore chakra and calories. It'll be enough to last you until the end of the test."

Ino grabbed the package, tore open the package and shove the bar into her mouth, chewing rapidly. She didn't even pause for a breath. Naruto and Shino watched with fascination, both speechless.

While she ate, Naruto and Shino stood up.

"We'll wait a few minutes so she can get her strength back. Then we'll go after Shikaku-sensei."

Shino nodded. "So which one will lead the attack this time?"

Naruto looked at the sun. "We have a two and half hours left. I'll lead the attack this time. It's your turn to capture."

"I'll do my best."

* * *

15 minutes later, Naruto was currently heading east. Shino had pointed in the general direction where their teacher might be. He and Ino would wait for Naruto's signal before coming as his reinforcements.

There were no clearings. He was surrounded by trees, each one only a meter away from another in either direction. The sun had still not fully risen in the sky, so sunlight was limited. In fact, it almost as dark as night.

"You know," echoed a voice from the forest itself. "It's unwise to walk through the forest without knowing what's inside. A big, bad wolf might come and eat you."

Naruto scoffed and kept walking. "If you think a bedtime story is going to scare me, you've got another thing coming, sensei. This is my training field. You're on my home turf."

"Oh, really? So the explosive tags you've placed on several trees are your home field advantage?"

Naruto cursed. Several months ago, he placed exploding tags as a trap for anyone who would cross onto his field without permission. He had the Third's consent to place dozens of low-level tags on trees to either surprise someone while he investigate or hopefully scare them off. These tags were not powerful enough to kill, or even injure. They were mainly used as a signal.

"Just to let you know, I've already disabled them." Naruto heard footsteps coming from the trees on his left. He turned to see Shikaku walking from the darkness. "So what exactly is your plan?"

The last thing Shikaku expected was for the blond to smirk.

"This," he said and hopped into the trees. Behind him were three clones. Two were holding on to a tree and something else while the third was pulling whatever....

"Ah, crap," muttered Shikaku.

**"Ninja Art: Kunai Slingshot!"** called the clone as it let go of the ramen. Five kunai were propelled towards the teacher at twice the speed of regular throw.

Shikaku hit the dirt and the kunai sailed over him. He barely heard the whistle above when Naruto landed in front of his face. With a smile, he reared back his leg.

"Strike!" Naruto yelled.

Shikaku pushed and back flipped off the ground just as Naruto's foot grazed the tip of his nose. When he landed on his feet, he saw Naruto's clones begin to fire another volley of kunai. Shikaku back flipped again as the knives flew around him.

"You'll have to try harder than that, buddy," said Shikaku when he landed again.

"What about me?" called Ino as she burst through the foilage and launched a barrage of shurikun at Shikaku, who cursed and twisted his body with ease to dodge them. Each shurikun zoomed by and flew into the dark.

"A frontal assault is useless, you two," sighed Shikaku. Ino and Naruto regrouped, both of them in a defensive stance. He began to circle them. "What do you hope to gain by this?"

"This," Naruto said, holding a fist. Ino held one up as well.

"Your hands?" chuckled Shikaku. "What's that going-" Shikaku froze when he felt his arm brush up against something that shouldn't be in empy space. He turned his head slightly to see the small glimmer of ninja wire. Wire that came from both Naruto and Ino's hand. He turned in the other direction to see the wire attached to the shurken Ino threw earlier. Gazing around, he saw that he was surrounded by wire.

"Okay. So you've trapped me with wires. Now what?"

"That's not all, sensei," said Ino.

Shikaku frowned and looked again at the shurikun. The light shifted in the trees, revealing more of their trap that made Shikaku swallowed. The wire was not only attached to the shurikun, but also wrapped around several kunai. They were the kunai Naruto's clones threw earlier. And wrapped on the handles of the knives were several explosive notes.

Not low-level ones. Very explosive notes.

"Double crap," Shika muttered.

"I'm really, really glad Ino has great aim," Naruto smiled at his teammate. "Because now you're open for an attack."

**"Swarm,"** said Shino, who appeared behind his friends. Immediately, his insects surrounded their sensei, forming a dome around him before launching themselves.

He could sense his insects hunger as the landed on their teacher. But before they could satisfy their hunger, he felt their confusion as their prey disappeared.

"He's gone," he stated to his friends.

"I saw," muttered Naruto. "Your insects formed a man-shaped cloud before they dispersed."

"So he just vanished?" asked Ino.

"No," said Shino. "He didn't vanish. I felt him disappear straight into the ground. He somehow merged with it."

"How?"

"The shadows," said Naruto and a voice in the trees. Team 10 looked to see their teacher standing on a tree branch and leaning on a tree trunk. He was warmly smiling at students. "It's a specialty among the more experienced Nara clan members. Just like my Shadow Barrier, I can increase my powers using the shadows in the area to my advantage. In this case, ..."

"Merging with the shadows themselves," finished Shino. "That's how you were able to disappear from my kikaichu's attack. You can merge your body with the shadows and can travel within them unnoticed."

"Very observant, Shino," praised Shikaku. "You three are coming along nicely. I'm even more impressed. But the clock is ticking with only two hours left."

"This isn't over yet. We're just getting started," started Naruto, who pointed at his teacher. "And you just might be on your final stretch."

Shikaku grinned, but didn't give away his predicament. Using the **Kage Crawl Jutsu** was always a double-edged sword. It was meant to be an escape jutsu, only used in emergencies. He could travel as far as the shadow stretched, but the move would always cost him half his chakra and would take hours to fully replenish.

"Perhaps," countered Shikaku. "So I must do everything I can to prevent you from gaining an advantage." He pulled a kunai from his jonin vest and threw it towards the paper bombs.

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw it was one of his kunais with a exploding tag.

"Get down!" he yelled, pulling Shino and Ino away from the area. He only had a second to take on jump before an explosion rocked the area. The team was knocked off their feet and landed a good distance away.

Dirt and smoke enveloped the area, causing Naruto to cough. Waving the smoke away from his face, he slowly got up to his knees. Shino was getting back up and shaking the dirt out of his hair. Ino was slightly stirring. When they fell, Naruto and Shino instinctively covered her body with their own.

"Ino? Shino?"

"I'm okay," Shino muttered.

"I'm fine as well," Ino coughed. She got to her knees, a look of gratitude on her face. "Thank you. Both of you."

Naruto smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "No problem, Ino. That's what a teammate does."

A small grin formed on Shino's face. "We protect one another."

* * *

Shikaku looked on with a smile. Everything was coming together accordingly and his team was bonding very quickly.

He turned and hopped south.

Naruto heard the branches creak in the distance, telling him his sensei was heading away.

* * *

"Well, we almost had him," muttered Ino.

"It was a good plan, Naruto," Shino said. "We just underestimated him."

Ino slouched dejectedly. "So we're not really meant to beat him, are we?"

"Try not to think of it like that," encouraged Shino. "We are three genins against a jonin. We are meant to see how the skills we learned play into effect as well as the skills we learn on the field. We're learning how to adapt to our surroundings."

"This is not over!" yelled Naruto, jumping to his feet with fire in his eyes. "I'm not going to give up just because I'm getting my butt kick."

Shino chuckled softly got his feet. "Neither will I."

Ino grinned wickedly and jumped to her feet. "Me neither."

"We're not going to stop. We stand together and fight as one."

* * *

The three chakra-hopped towards Shikaku in the direction Shino's hive was telling them. Naruto lead the way south, towards their original location.

"Remember, we need to keep sensei out of the shadows. The plan this time is to keep him in the open field. It will be easier this time since he's heading south, where there are less trees."

"Are you sure this will work?" asked Ino.

"It will," Shino reassured her.

Three minutes later, they arrived silently to the location....

...only to find Shikaku calmly waiting for them. He was standing in the open field where the team met earlier.

"Well, that makes things easier," Ino said. The three were hiding behind the tree line that separated them from the field.

"Hold on. It could be a trap," Shino said.

"It is a trap," Naruto said. "He's waiting for us."

"So what do we do?"

Naruto grinned. "Spring the trap."

A moment later, the three dashed through the tree line towards their teacher. But before they could reach him, Shikaku threw several shurikun at them. They ducked and threw their ones. Shikaku pulled a kunai from behind his back and blocked every star thrown.

"Well now, attacking as one this time. Intriguing," said Shikaku. "But Naruto couldn't accomplish that with his shadow clones. What makes you think you can do it as a team?"

"Well, for one thing, we don't think like him," said Ino with a smirk.

"Hey!"

"And another thing is we won't pop when we're struck."

"So this is more of an endurance attack?" shrugged Shikaku. He got into his defensive stance. "Well, alright. Let's see how this will play out."

The team and their opponent stared at each in silence, each one waiting for the other to make the first move. The wind shifted around them, causing the grass to bristle. Once it stopped, Naruto, eager as always, rushed forward. Behind him, Shino raised his right arm and several of his kikaichus followed right behind the blonde.

Naruto swung a left hook at his sensei's head, who merely leaned his head back to avoid the blow. The blonde use the momentum, placed his hands on the ground and delivered a mule kick. Shikaku jumped back, but didn't get too far thanks to Shino's insects. His hive had surrounded the two, trapping them. Before he could counter, he twisted to his left to avoid Naruto's swinging axe-kick.

Shikaku was in a pickle now. With the insects surrounding him, he couldn't stretch a string of chakra to perform a substitution jutsu without it hitting one of Shino's insects. So his other option was to perform a shunshin and appear further away. But he couldn't concentrate long enough to perform it with Naruto's current speed and his low chakra.

Naruto could hardly believe it. Here he was, going toe-to-toe with his sensei and he was holding his own. He believed that it would be harder than this. But he wasn't one to turn back good karma, so he kept up keeping Shikaku moving.

But then he goofed. Naruto went for a leg sweep, only for Shikaku to anticipate it and jump earlier enough to land on his leg. Pain shot into his leg as Shikaku leapt off his leg and land over the barrier of insects.

However, Shino and Ino were there waiting for him before he had a chance to run. Ino swung her leg for a low kick while Shino jumped up for a spinning-heel kick. Acting on instinct, Shikaku hopped and stretched his bodies sideways to avoid the two kicks. The teacher evaded the attacks, hit the ground, and dashed for the tree line. He now had enough time to perform a shunshin.

Naruto saw this as his teacher avoided his teammate's attacks. He channeled chakra to his feet, propelling him off the ground and over Shino's insect barrier. He flew through the air, towards his sensei. As he fell, he threw a kunai at Shikaku's back.

Shikaku must have heard the faint whistle of the kunai because he twisted his body to the right to avoid. But the move caused him to stumble. When Naruto landed, he charge to his sensei. His fist cocked back into a punch. However, his teacher surprised him with a back kick to the stomach, knocking the breath out of him and sending him flying across the meadow. Naruto hit the ground and kept rolling and rolling. He even kept rolling when he hit the water of a pond and skipped across.

Naruto finally began to slow down. He channeled a stream of chakra through his feet and slid across the surface of the pond. When he stopped, he sunk a few inches before standing up a few inches. Then he sunk again.

"Well this is impressive," said Shikaku, who appeared in front of Naruto, standing on the water. His teammates surrounded them at the edge in defensive stances. "You already know the water-walking chakra exercise."

"You have your son to thank for that," smirked Naruto. He took a step towards his teacher, but slipped and sunk down to his knees.

"Looks like you haven't fully mastered the exercise yet," said Shikaku. "Well, that's something we can work on. If you pass that is."

"We're going to pass. Believe it!" yelled Naruto. He pushed chakra into this feet and shot off the water like a rocket. He swung an uppercut at his sensei's chin only for him to lean back to avoid the punch with ease.

Naruto flew over his sensei and landed between his friends, who threw a handful of shurikun at their teacher. A flash of smoke and the stars impacted a log over the water. The log hovered in mid-air before falling into the pond.

"Where did he go?" asked Ino.

"Behind us," answered Shino without looking around.

"How do you know?"

"Because we can't move," Naruto said.

"What do you...?" Ino started before she realized he was right. "Hey! I can't move! What's happening?"

"Shadow Paralysis Jutsu," answered Naruto. "The Nara clan's signature move. They stretch out their shadows and merge it with their opponents. The prisoner is then forced to mimic the actions of the Nara in question."

"Let me guess, you've sparred against my son a couple of times as well," said a voice behind the three. Naruto felt his joints move against his will and turn him around. His crossed his arms over his chest, a copy of Shikaku's posture as he stood a few meters in front of them.

"He would sometimes spar with us. Only on days he considered it wasn't too troublesome," Naruto told him.

Shikaku chuckled. "Naruto, I still haven't figured out if a good or bad influence on my son. I believe it's the former."

"Well, when your son is not complaining all the time, he can be a good person to hang around."

"Hello!" shouted Ino. Her posture matched Shikaku's. "We're trapped here in a shadow and you're having a conversation with our opponent! What's wrong with you?"

Naruto sighed and nodded. "Alright, spring the trap."

Shikaku barely had time to react when Naruto finished his sentence. As soon as stopped, Shikaku heard the faint whistle of several shurikun aimed at his back. He released his jutsu and jumped into the air. The stars whistled below his feet. Team 10 ducked and dodged stars thrown.

Shikaku landed a distance away from his team. They were getting up off the ground from the quick attack. Shikaku turned to the trees from where the stars came from. His eyebrows rising were the only indication of his surprise.

Standing near the trees was Ino and Shino.

Shikaku turned to Team 10 who was grinning like kids in a candy store. The Ino and Shino beside Naruto poofed into smoke and two Naruto clones stood in their place. Shikaku groaned.

"You had two shadow clones transform into your teammates so I would focus on them instead of the sneak attack from behind. But how did you use Shino's kikaichu?"

Naruto smiled. "He placed them on me earlier when I made their clones. When it looked 'Shino' was using them earlier, he was just controlling them from a distance." Naruto shuddered. "Although, it was really disturbing felling them inside my jacket. No offense, Shino."

"None taken," said the bug-wielder. "It does take a while to get used to."

"And right now, it's time to end this," Naruto said. He pulled his last kunai from his pouch and charged his sensei. Ino and Shino charged forward from the treeline, cutting off the sensei's retreat.

They were within attack range in seconds. Each one readied themselves for a kick, punch, or slash while their sensei just stood his ground. Naruto felt his jaw drop when his kunai went through his teacher's neck. It dropped even farther when Shikaku poofed away in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto instantly thought 'shadow clone', but then collided painfully with Ino and Shino.

* * *

A flood of memories instantly flooded Shikaku's mind, but he ignored them. He busted out laughing at his student's train wreck. In all of his years of being a shinobi, he had not seen anything this funny in a long time.

This actually makes it worth it being a sensei.

* * *

Naruto groaned in pain. He was currently at the bottom of the pileup with Ino and Shino groaning on top of him. At least they were alive and he didn't accidentally cut someone with his knife.

"I should've known a shadow user would know the Shadow Clone Jutsu," he groaned.

"Whose hand is that?" Ino demanded angrily.

"Sorry," muttered Shino, pulling his hand off Ino's butt.

"This is very cute, you guys," said several, familiar voices. Naruto pushed Ino's leg from his face to see at least a dozen Shadow Clones of their sensei surrounding them. The boy groaned and got back to his feet, pulling Shino and Ino up with him.

"How?" asked Naruto.

"You three, in a group hug," said one clone.

"It's very sweet," said another, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

"Ha ha," Ino said sarcastically. She turned to Shino. "So which on is the real one?"

"I don't know," Shino admitted. He held his hand out and one of his insects flew to his finger. "This was the female I placed on him earlier. Sensei must have used his shadow clone from the very get go. My insects can't tell which one his him. He has divided his chakra evenly between them."

"So all this time, we've been fighting a shadow clone?" Ino gaped.

"That's right," all the clones' anwered.

"After all the training and experience I have, I've managed to produce a shadow clone that can endure at least a few body shots and gather its own chakra."

"It has a limit, but it's hard to figure out the difference between the real me and the clone."

"Wow," Naruto said in awe. "I've got to learn that."

"I'll teach it to you," answered the clones. Then they got into attack positions. "If you pass. You have only one hour left."

"Oh, we'll pass," said Ino. The three each got into their fighting stances.

"Believe it!" Naruto yelled and the team charged their sensei's clones.

By instinct, each one took on four of the clones with a fury they never knew they had. Shikaku, who had studied his students profile's earlier, was shocked about how quick and accurate his students had become after three hours of fighting his clone. Most academy graduates would be too tired to keep up with their jonin sensei, but his students were fighting with everything they had.

Ino was furiously striking at her opponents with the ferociousness not shown by many kunoichi. She was using the basic academy taijutsu moves, but her speed was faster than earlier and her agility reminded Shikaku of a lion, with her pouncing and skills dodging his attacks. The real Shikaku's eyes widened when he received memories of one his clones Ino defeated. Apparently, she ducked under its left hood and then drove her knee straight into his clone's stomach.

Shino was just as good, if not better. He took on his opponents with a skill not seen by many ninja, especially with the Aburame's status as outcasts. Shino fought Shikaku's clones with his family's style, a kung fu form the relied mainly on directing opponents strikes and then retaliating instantly. It didn't matter which clone struck, Shino would deflect the strike, and then strike back. His speed made him look like he had several arms instead of just two. The clones couldn't get one single hit and sometimes even got tangled with each others arms. Shikaku almost gasped himself when received memories of a dispelled clone that received a palm strike to the chest.

Naruto, frankly, scared the crap out of Shikaku. It was not his fighting style, which consisted mostly basic academy taijutsu, nor was it his strength or speed. Naruto had endurance that most jonins would kill to have. Already, his clones had laid ten hard hits on the boy that would make most chunin either give up or be knocked out. The blonde would just grunt with pain before striking back with unmatched vigor. Naruto also had an uncanny ability to pull of moves that Shikaku didn't recognize from any style. One move, Naruto jumped over a clone's leg sweep only to grab the real Shikaku's head between his feet, twist in the air, and flip the teacher over onto the ground. When he landed Shikaku felt the breath get knocked out of him.

Despite Team 10's valiant efforts, they were still exhausted from their battles with Shikaku's clone earlier in the day. Ino's attacks became slower and slower before she finally stumbled. A clone's fist caught her in the stomach, lifting her off the ground and sent flying across the meadow.

Shino was tiring as well. His arms were finally caught by the clones he was fighting. Then, they each gave him a sidekick each to his chest. He flew through the air, the breath knocked out of him. He landed only a few feet away from Ino, spitting out blood.

Naruto was still fresh, but Shikaku and his clones had begun to adjust to Naruto's unique style. Naruto was finding it harder and harder to dodge or block Shikaku's attacks. He could feel the blows finally beginning to take effect on his bruised body.

Then, Naruto over extended a punch, causing him to stumble. One Shikaku clone kicked him in the stomach making Naruto grimace. The other clone caught the blond with viscious uppercut to the chin. Finally, the real Shikaku finished it with a spinning heel kick, catching him in chest and sending him flying. He hit the dirt hard, creating a long divot the carried him to his friends. He took several deep breaths, trying to fill his lungs back up.

"Well, I must admit. You three have shown more talent in these past three hours then most genin have in the past ten years," said Shikaku. He had gathered his clones around him. He still had nine clones with him, each of them gazing with acknowledgment at his students.

Naruto, holding a hand to his chess, slowly got back to his feet. Ino and Shino were struggling to sit up. Their bodies were wracked with pain and exhaustion after their battle with Shikaku and his clones.

But Naruto was not going to let it end this way. He reached to his side and unzipped the pouch. He turned to his side so he would let his teacher see what he was doing. Grabbing a handful of dough, he began to channel his chakra into it.

He gave the slightest glance to Shino, indicating his plan. Shino nodded and pulled a smoke bomb from his pocket. He threw the bomb at Shikaku's feet, engulfing him and his clones in a cloud of smoke.

"**Ninja Art: Ramen Bind Jutsu!"** Naruto yelled, throwing the ball of dough at his teacher. He hoped he hit him even though he was obscured by the smoke.

He hope was answered when he heard his teacher yelp with surprise. The smoke vanished quickly and there was Shikaku, wrapped in a rope of dough.

"Gotcha," smirked Naruto.

Shikaku struggled against his bonds while his clones looked on in surprise.

"Now, this is a jutsu," Shikaku grunted. "These bonds are stronger than any kind of rope or chain I've come across. Not only that, the chakra you've kneaded in the dough as cut off my ability to use a substitution jutsu or perform a shunshin."

"Whoa, I didn't know about that last part," Naruto said with awe. His friends were surprised as well.

"It's true," smiled Shikaku. "Looks like I was right. Your jutsu could be considered high-class."

But then, Shikaku closed his eyes. A look on intense concentration was on his face before they snapped opened. Using what elbow room he had, he formed several seals.

**"Shadow Endgame Technique!"**(2)

Shikaku's shadow started creeping up his body. It was able to sink underneath the dough, then hook around it. Next, the shadows seemed to tighten and strain along with Shikaku's face. A loud grunt later, the dough around Shikaku snapped off and fell to the ground.

Naruto had a look of disbelief while Shikaku stretched his arms out.

"But there's always a way to get out of any predicament if you put your mind to it," explained Shikaku. On last stretch and he turned back to his students. "You still have about an hour left. I'm going to give you a couple of options. One is that you quit now and I will send a recommendation to the Hokage and council about testing you again in another six months. Another option if one of you quits being a ninja right now and spend the rest of your life being a civilian, I'll pass the other two. Finally, you can continue fighting this fight until time runs out and your sent back to the academy and face another year of Iruka's lectures. Let's face it; you three are out of gas. And you haven't landed one good hit on me."

Naruto kept his steel gaze on his teacher. He really wanted to pass. He wanted to show the village that he was not an outcast, that he wasn't the Kyuubi, but a ninja of the village. A shinobi with dreams of becoming Hokage.

But....in the last few hours spending with his team, he realized he wasn't the only with dreams. Shino wanted to change his clan for the better and lead them to a better life. One were they were seen in the light. Ino wanted to change and be a better kunoichi. Her skills had taken a tremendous leap in just a short time due to her determination.

He couldn't let their dreams down. So, he took a deep breath and prepared to tell Shikaku he was quitting.

"We're never going to quit, sensei," said Shino with a determined voice that Naruto had never heard.

The blonde turned to see his teammates struggling stand on their feet. Their bodies were trembling with exhaustion and pain. Their faces were grimaced, but the stares were determined.

"We're a team. We've discovered that when we saw how well we work together," explained Shino.

"We either pass or fail. But if we're going to fail, we'll go back to the academy together," Ino said.

Naruto smiled at his team...no, his friends. They were willing to keep on fighting, regardless if the passed or not.

"Cute," said Shikaku. "But if you're going to pass, you might want to get a move on."

"Oh, we'll pass alright," said Naruto with a new strength. "We might still have some tricks."

"Like what?"

Naruto turned to his friends. They nodded, and then leapt away from the clearing and towards the treeline.

"Your teammates are retreating? That's exactly a sign of teamork."

"There not retreating," smirked Naruto. "They're just getting out of the way."

"For what?"

Naruto answered by digging as much ramen dough he could from his pouches. He meshed it together, channeling as much chakra he could. Then, he channeled his chakra into his feet and leapt into the air, soaring above his sensei and his clones. When he began to hover in the air, he took his kunai and spun like a tornado in the air.

**"Ninja Art: Ramen Storm!"**(3)

Shikaku had no idea what the blond was doing. It just look like he was wasting a lot of energy spinning in the air. But then he heard a splat coming from one his clones. He looked just in time to see the clone's eyes widen with surprise before dispersing. Then another clone popped. And another and another.

The man barely had time to wonder what was happing when something landed on his arm, right in his elbow joint. He looked to see a small, ball of dough on the his skin. Then, the ball began to swell in size. In seconds, the ball had become the size of a basketball and kept on growing. As it grew, the dough became heavier and more attached to his skin. Soon, he wasn't able to move his arm at all because of the weight and the fact that his forearm and bicep had now become glued together.

It was pretty much what Naruto said. It was a storm of ramen. Understanding the danger, Shikaku tried to hurry out of the rain of ramen. Several pops behind him indicated the rest of his clones popped. Then, another piece of ramen landed on his back, his other arm, and the very tips of his toes peeking through his sandal. Before he could continue, the ramen on his foot grew and became attached to the ground when he took another step. His momentum made him fall face-first onto the ground. When he landed, the swelling dough on his arms stuck to the ground. Several more splats on his back and the growing weight made him pinned to the ground.

Before he could concentrate on using his shadow, he saw two pairs of feet in front of his face and two kunai pointed at his face. He tilted his head up to see the grinning face of Ino and the slightly smirking face of Shino.

"Got ya, sensei," Ino said.

Shikaku sighed. He knew was pinned. He underestimated Naruto's attack.

"You got me."

Team 10 chuckled. A moment later, the dough around Shikaku began to shrink and crumble into dust. When it was gone, Shikaku got up and brushed off his arms.

"Just how did you do that?" asked Shikaku.

"I combined yeast with dough for this attack," explained Naruto. "Once it attached itself to a surface, the dough would rise up and gain weight from the air and my chakra, trapping my opponent. But there is a drawback. The jutsu only lasts for 15 seconds. Once time is up, the dough will crumble away."

Shikaku shook his head with disbelief. "Genius. You guys are a force to be reckoned with."

"So does that mean we pass," asked Ino eagerly.

Shikaku looked at his now formed genins.

"You have. Team 10 passes."

* * *

Well, here you go. How well did it turn out? I know I used a lot of Shikamaru's moves from the manga for his father to use. I guess I wasn't original enough.

(1)This is the technique Shikamaru used against Sai's art lions when they first meet.

(2)Shikamaru used this jutsu against Hidan in the forest to finish him off.

(3)The best way I can explain this technique is to take example from the movie 'The Incredibles, when Bob tried to escape the computer room and got caught in the trap.


	7. A N Please don't kill me

I'm afraid that my laptop has crashed and uploading my stories will be a lot slower since I'm using the school's computers. Also, I'm graduating from college in May, but I also have to take summer classes to receive my diploma. So I won't have much free time.

To be honest, I don't have an accurate idea of when my next upload will be. It might take a few months.


	8. Journals and Understandings

I'm back. Sorry for the long wait everyone. I kind of threw this chapter together so there may be some spelling errors and other problems. Sorry about that. I just had to update something or else I was going to go nuts.

* * *

When everyone caught their breath, they walked underneath a shady tree just a few feet from the creek. Ino immediately collapsed and rolled onto her back with eyes clothes, taking several deep breaths. Shino leaned against the tree and slowly sat down, sighing with relief when he felt the pressure leave his legs. Naruto pulled off his sweatshirt, knelt beside the creek and dunked his whole head into the water, getting all the sweat from his hair. After remaining underwater for a few seconds, he rose up with a groan of relief and collapsed beside Ino.

"I've never felt so tired in my life," Ino groaned.

"That's a sign you worked your hardest Ino," Naruto chuckled. "Feels great, don't it?"

Ino chuckled lightly. "It does, actually."

"I think we better get used to it," Shino muttered. "Since we passed, feeling this tired will most likely is a factor from now on."

"That's right. We passed," Naruto cheered weakly.

"Yah," Ino groaned, slowly rising her arms into the air.

"Shino's right, team," announced Shikaku. Unlike them, he still looked fresh and ready for another fight. Any trace of ramen from Naruto's attack was gone. And in his hands, he had four large bentos. "Who's hungry?"

Ino immediately leapt up and grabbed the top box. She sat back down, ripped the package open and began scarfing down her lunch. Her chopsticks were a blur as she ate.

Shino, his eyebrows raised at Ino, gradually took his box and began eating at a much slower pace than Ino. Naruto just smirked at Ino's new eating habits as he took his bento from his sensei.

Everyone ate in silence for the next minutes. Naruto felt his energy being slowly restored with each bite. By the time he finished, all of his aches and weariness was gone. Too bad he couldn't say the same for his teammates. Ino was lying on her back, rubbing her full stomach while Shino was nodding off as he leaned against the tree.

"Okay, team. You have officially become genins of the Hidden Leaf village," said Shikaku. "As much of accomplishment as that is, you must know that from here on out, your lives are now devoted to your village. Any ideas of switching allegiance with another village will most likely have the consequence of being named a missing nin. Not only that, you will also been in constant danger. Each mission you take for the village has the possibility of becoming your last. If you can get it through your thick skulls, you are not indestructible. There is always going to be someone stronger, faster, and more intelligent than you. Understand?"

"Yes, Shikaku-sensei," Team 10 chorused together.

"We knew the consequences when we signed up for the academy," said Naruto.

"We wouldn't be here now if we didn't consider the possibilities of one us perishing early in our lives," Shino explained.

"We are no longer children, but soldiers and weapons for our village," Ino said.

Shikaku nodded. He was proud of his students for accepting their fates so earlier in a young age. When he was a genin, he was surrounded by several newbie's who were so sure of themselves and bragged about how they were indestructible. Each one who bragged had perished before they even made chunins.

"I'm glad you all have accepted this fact," Shikaku admitted to his team. "But I'll be damned if that will happen on my watch."

Team 10 looked up at their sensei with confusion on their faces. Shikaku smiled and sat down on the grass.

"You guys are not just my students; you're my comrades. Teammates. For now on, we will become a family who will protect each other from our enemies with all of our strength and will. We will never abandon each other, never leave one behind, and always be there for one another in the darkest of times."

Naruto looked at his team. He knew Shikaku would keep his work. His duty as a sensei to his students would always be true, but Naruto knew it would be deeper than that. From the stories Shikamaru told his friends, Shikaku and his friends were the most loyalist jonin in the village. Shikamaru said the battle scars on his dad's face were from defending his comrades during the Third Ninja War.

Naruto turned to Shino and saw that he completely agreed with Shikaku's lecture. His posture was stiff, but Naruto could see from his visible facial expression that he was determined as his sensei to defend his friends. Shino caught Naruto's gaze and gave him a small, but firm nod. Naruto grinned and nodded back.

When Naruto turned to Ino, he was surprised to see such strong expression on her face. During the academy years, he usually saw a look of indifference on her face during Iruka's lectures. But now, she seemed so determined and focused that is startled him. When Ino saw him staring, she grinned at him, letting him know she now serious about her ninja career. Naruto returned her grin and then turned back to Shikaku.

"I know that were given a specific team specialty, but I think that's a bad idea. We're going to try something else."  
"What do you mean sensei?" asked Naruto. "I thought you said that the teams were divided up into specific groups because of ability? That our team was a T.I.A.T. team?"

"We will keep that rank; however, I believe that is a disaster waiting to happen. I plan on making you fully-fledged shinobi, as troublesome as it is."

"Can you explain sensei?" asked Ino.

"Sure. Like Naruto pointed out, we were paired up specifically for our abilities. However, I believe in the philosophy of 'Expect the Unexpected'. With our status, we'll most likely be given missions that will be within our abilities. But what happens when we end up in a situation that is out of our league? What will we do then? Believe it or not, many shinobi deaths were not from losing to a stronger opponent, but from being ill-equipped for a situation."

"So you plan on training us in every possible ninja category," stated Shino.

Shikaku smiled. "Right on one. During our training sessions, I plan on training you in every possible element I can. Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu, Tracking, Stealth and Assassination, Torture and Interrogation, Sealing, Summoning, Element manipulation, and more."

Ino gaped. "Is it possible to learn all of that?"

"We're going to try," chuckled Shikaku. "I plan on turning you guys into the next sannin."

Shikamaru actually snorted. "I think that might be a little impossible Shikaku-sensei. We could never hope to amount to making Sannin level."

This caused Shikaku to smirk. "We'll just have to see then. Now, tomorrow is an off day. You three used up a lot of energy and almost ran out of chakra during our fight. So use tomorrow to recuperate. However, I still want to show up. We'll have a quick ten-minute meeting at noon before I'll let you go for the rest of the day."  
"Why sensei?" asked Ino.

"You'll see. Now, go home, get some rest and then come to my clan's house for dinner tonight."

"What?" asked Naruto and Ino.

"My wife wants to meet you guys," groaned Shikaku. "Then, she got this brilliant idea to invite all of the three teams that passed tonight over for a giant BBQ. Choza and Inoichi will be there as well along with their kids so feel free to bring your family as well Shino."

Shino nodded, but then saw the look sadness on Naruto's face. All three of them saw it.

"Feel free to bring your girlfriend and your Pop along as well, Naruto."

Naruto quickly switched to a smile. This would the perfect opportunity to bring his family to a gathering where they won't be brought down for his burden.

Shikaku got up from the ground and brushed the grass off his pants. "Party starts at 7. Be sure to bring your appetites." And with that, he shushined away.

Naruto groaned as he pulled himself up. "Well, I'm going to go home and change. Kami knows I could use a shower." He held out his hand to Shino. He grabbed it and pulled himself up.

"Same here," Ino muttered. "Can I have some help?"

Naruto and Shino each grabbed one of her hand and pulled her up. Ino groaned as her sore muscles stretched. "I'm so glad Shikaku-sensei gave us the day off tomorrow."

"I wonder why we still have to meet him tomorrow though," asked Naruto.

"Who knows? Right now, I'm going home and taking a bath. I'll see you boys tonight," Ino said as she limped off, leaving Naruto and Shino watching her go.

"She has changed, right?" Naruto asked.

Shino held a finger in the air. "I believe she has. Give her time Naruto. Konoha wasn't built in a day." After a few seconds, a female kikaichu flew onto his finger.

"If Ino knew we put an insect on her without her permission, we probably be buried six feet into the ground," Naruto stated.

"Maybe, but we needed a way to find her if the situation needed us to separate," explained Shino. A second later, another kikaichu landed on Shino's finger. Naruto shivered.

"I'm sorry Shino, but it was extremely uncomfortable knowing one of your insects was one me without knowing where it was."

"I understand. But it was necessary," said Shino.

"I know."

The two genins walked back to the village, both of them too tired to carry on a conversation. They stopped when they came to Shino's compound.

"See you tonight Shino," Naruto said holding out his hand.

Shino nodded and shook his friend's hand. "You too." Shino turned around and walked through the gates to his family's compound. Naruto turned to head to the Ichiraku's when an ANBU guard appeared in front of him. Naruto saw the long purple hair and knew it was one of the guards who treated him like a friend. As best as a guard can anyway.

"Yes, Neko-san?"

"Uzumaki, you're presence is required at the Hokage's office," she stated.

Naruto nodded. "Thank you. If you have time, can you report to Teuchi Ichiraku about my delay?"

The woman nodded. "Off course."

"Arigotou," he bowed as the woman shushined away.

* * *

Naruto slowly walked down the Hokage's hallway. Even from a distance, he could hear the Third's loud voice along with several others. He though best to come back later when the door opened. Homura and Koharu were the first to step out when a third joined them. He was a tall man with scraggly black hair and tape wrapped around one of his eyes. He was clad in white robes and carried a walking stick with his good arm. The trio spotted Naruto in the hallway. Homura scowled while the Koharu just nodded.

The other man just gave Naruto a steely gaze. The boy saw the look, but also saw the hint of interest in the man's eyes as well.

"Good afternoon, Uzumaki. We had just gotten word from your sensei that you passed your genin examination. Congratulations."

Naruto, not wanting to be rude, bowed. "Thank you…um."  
"Danzo. Shimura Danzo. I am an advisor to the Sandaime along with my colleagues."

Naruto froze. The Third told him to avoid this man at all costs. The Sandaime never fully trusted Danzo as a member of the council because of his previous dealings with an organization known as the Foundation. The third couldn't fully prove the existence of the hidden organization and had not trusted Danzo sense.

"We'll leave you to your meeting with my old teammate. I'll be sure to keep an eye on your future, Uzumaki," said Danzo.

I'm sure you will. Nevertheless, Naruto bowed and quickly walked by them to the Sandaime's office. When he opened the door, he saw the man pacing back and forth in front of his window and trying to light his pipe.

"Jiji, you okay?" Naruto asked.

The Third looked up and smiled at the boy. "I'm fine, Naruto."

Naruto walked in and sat down in front of his desk. "Jiji, you're antsy and muttering. Something's got you riled up."

The Third sighed and sat down. "I'm guessing you met Danzo on your way up here."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Charming guy," he said sarcastically.

The Hokage chuckled, but then turned serious. "I'm afraid he knows about your heritage as well as my colleagues. In fact, I believe he was the one who originally found out that night we discussed it with the Ichiraku's. However, I am unable to prove it."

"So what did he want?" asked Naruto.

"To accept your lineage," answered the Third, waiting for Naruto to scowl and say forget it. He was surprised when he saw the boy frown and look down at his feet.

To be honest, Naruto had begun to have his doubts. Kohari's question kept buzzing through his mind whenever he had a moment to think. What would he have done he was given the choice of sealing a biju into a newborn to save the sake of this village. True to his word, he would give his life instantly if it meant saving all that he loved. But to burden a child when he was given no option, was that really the right direction to go?

"Something wrong Naruto?" asked the Sandaime.

Naruto took a deep breath before answering. "Jiji, if you were the Hokage during Kyubi attack, would have followed the same course as the Fourth and sealed the biju into me?"

The Third's eyes widened with surprise and the pipe in his mouth fell out. Then the man's eyes saddened and he begun to stare at his own feet. It was several moments before the Hokage answered.

"Yes. Being the Hokage means doing whatever was necessary to save the village."

Naruto felt tears begin to leak from his eyes. Even another leader admitted he would have sealed the biju into him if given the chance.

"Why, though?" asked Naruto. "Why me?"

The Third took a moment to re-light his pipe before answering. "Because the Nine-Tailed demon was too strong for just anyone to volunteer and become a jinchuriki."

"What?" asked a now perplexed Naruto.

"You've read the scroll I gave you right?" Naruto nodded. "Well, that sealing process was not the only way to seal a tailed beast. There are many kinds of seals out there, but that one was the most effective. Some sealings only require a seal and an object for it to be successful."

"You mean of Shukaku," said Naruto. He read how the tanuki spirit was sealed into a teapot.

The Third nodded. "But the only reason that worked because Shukaku was significantly weaker than the Kyubi. Kyubi was a force of nature that could not be stopped. Only a few ninja have faced him and lived."

"Who?" asked an eager Naruto.

"One was the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju." The Third smiled at Naruto's dropped jaw. "Yes. He was one of the few. Not only did he fight the demon, he won."

"He…won?"

"Yes. It was a battle so great that it carved the Earth. Not even the Great Shinobi Wars had seen that much carnage."

"So what happen to the Kyubi?"

"The demon was sealed away into its first jinchuriki. Since that time, there have been three jinchurikis for the Nine-Tails. You are the third Naruto."

Naruto rose an eyebrow. "Who were the other two?"

The Third stood from his seat and walked towards a painting on the other side of the room. "It's one of the reasons I called you here Naruto." He removed the painting, revealing a locked safe. The old man twisted the knob quickly and opened the door. He pulled two leather-bound books from the safe.

"What are those?" asked Naruto.

The Third presented them to Naruto. "These are your mother's journals."

Naruto's eyes widened as he read the name on the cover of the first book. Kushina Uzumaki.

"I'm sorry I kept these from you Naruto, but the information in these journals is just as rare as a forbidden scroll. And when you read them, you will know why you were chosen to be the next jinchuriki.

Naruto slowly grabbed the books with trembling hands. After being alone for all of these years, he finally had a connection to his mother. When he was younger, when he was staring at kids at the playground, the only thing he wanted most to have a mother watch over him. One who would treat him with kindness when introducing him to other kids. Treat him with gentleness for ever scrapped knee or elbow. Scold him for not eating his vegetables. And hug him tightly every night.

He instantly become protective of them and clutched them to his chest. Then looked up with a smile at his adoptive grandfather's face.

"Thanks, Jiji."

The Third smiled and patted his shoulder. Then he sat back down in his seat. "You're welcome Naruto. Now you better get going if you're going to meet your teammates for Shikaku's BBQ tonight."

"Are you going?"

The old man sighed and waved his hand at the stack of papers in a tray labeled 'process'. "I'm afraid not. Konohamaru is though."

Naruto struggled not to smile. "I understand. And you're right. The next sannin needs to get to his teacher's house in time."

The Third's head snapped up with an unreadable expression on his face. "What?" he asked.

"Shikaku-sensei told his he's going to turn us into the next sannin. Shino thought the idea was impossible but sensei said that wasn't going to stop him."

The Third didn't say anything. Naruto saw him look at the desk with an expression of immeasurable sadness.

"Jiji, are you okay?"

Sarutobi snapped back to reality and put on a smile Naruto knew was false. "I'm great, Naruto. Now, you should get going to your sensei's complex if you want to beat the Akimichi's to the food. Hurry along now," he said while waving a dismissive hand.

Naruto knew when a meeting was over when he saw that hand and got up to leave. But he had never heard the Third sound like that when he was talking. It was almost like he was struggling to keep his emotions in check.

As Naruto closed the door, he thought he heard the lightest sound of single drop of water hitting the desk with his sensitive hearing.

* * *

As Naruto, Teuchi and Ayame entered into the Nara Clan's compound, the smell of smoke and meat was already heavy in the air. The Nara's front yard was nearly ten acres with several scattered trees providing shade. The building was a traditional two-story home nearly 100 meters long. But the real deal was the behind the compound, where the Nara's deer roamed in forests. The Naras didn't have the biggest clan building, but they did have the biggest selection of land. Their compound stretched nearly halfway to the Land of Wind.

"Hey, Naruto!" yelled Choji from underneath a tree. He, Shikamaru, Hinata, Ino, Shino, and Konohamaru were eating in a group with a plate in their laps.

Naruto waved back and went to go place the pot of Miso ramen he brought to the party onto the table with the other food before fixing himself a plate and joining his friends. Ayame placed the desert she brought and joined him. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Shikaku, Choza, Inoichi, Shibi, Kurenai, the Third's son and Konohamaru's uncle, Asuma, Tsume and Ebisu standing next to a giant grill filled with every single meat you can have at a BBQ. Another group, featuring everyone's wife or mom, was at a table next to the food. Jahara, Choji's mom, Inacha, Ino's mom, Yoshino, Shikamaru's mom, Hana, Kiba's sister, Karai, Shino's mom, and Rana, Konohamaru's mom.

"Go to your friends, Naru-kun," Ayame told Naruto. "I need to get involved with some gossip with my fellow girls."

Naruto suppressed a shudder and grinned. "Okay, Aya-chan." Shino and Hinata made room for him as he sat down with his friends.

"Glad you could join us," Kiba grinned. He had a plate in his lap while Akamaru ate from a small bowl on the ground beside him.

"I'm glad I could be here. We better enjoy this day while we can," said Naruto. Then he looked around, confused. "Where are your teammates, Kiba?"

The ninken user rolled his eyes. "Sasuke's probably wondering if it's worth damaging his pride by mingling with the commoners while Sakura is patiently waiting for him to get out of the house."

Everyone had a chuckle at this, while Shino just grinned. Surprisingly, he was the next one to speak. "We were just discussing our genin tests."

"So each jonin gave a different test?" asked Naruto.

"With the same objective," answered Shikamaru. "Our sensei gave us three tests, each one with a different objective. At first, she put us into a genjutsu to separate us and then fought us one-on-one. My test was to capture her while the two of us was surrounded in mist."

Choji swallowed his food before speaking. "My test was to simply to find her, but she somehow led me to a dark, secluded part of the training ground where I couldn't see more than a foot in front of my face. What was worse, the ground was extremely rocky so I couldn't use my Human Boulder technique. Also, there too many trees in area as well so my expansion technique would have only caused a bigger mess."

Hinata took a breath before giving her version. "My test was to simply to incapacitate her with brute force. She told to come at her with the intent to kill."

Naruto felt a rush of sympathy for Hinata, who knew she had trouble attack others. It may have been a little barbaric of Kurenai to force Hinata into that situation, but Naruto knew it was a necessary tactic for breaking Hinata out of her shell.

"I spent nearly thirty seconds looking for her when I realized that I needed Hinata to help me see through this mist and find sensei," continued Shikamaru. "When I tried to escape and look for her, I realized I was in a genjutsu. I dispelled it and immediately found Hinata and Choji beside me with their eyes glazed over."

"Meanwhile, I was blindly searching for sensei when all of a sudden, I feel this rush of chakra and Shikamaru is standing in front of me. He explained what happened and I was kicking myself while he woke up Hinata," added Choji.

"During my genjutsu, I couldn't strike back," Hinata admitted. "Kurenai-sensei was attacking me mercilessly. I was about to give up when everything around me faded and Shikamaru and Choji were standing in front of me." Hinata then bowed her head with a few tears leaking from her eyes.

Naruto was about to comfort her when Choji grabbed her hand and patted it. Hinata looked up and smiled gratefully at Choji who smiled back. Naruto turned to Shikamaru with a raised eyebrow. The boy just smirked back.

"After we woke up Hinata, she was able to use her Byakugan and find Kurenai-sensei for us. She was in a clearing on the other side of the training field we were using," Shikamaru continued. "Choji was able to engage into battle easily while Hinata watched from the shadows, waiting to disengage any genjutsu Kurenai-sensei threw at Choji."

Hinata rose her head just enough to see everyone beaming at her. She immediately turned red and focused on her feet again. Everyone laughed.

"Yeah, Hinata was a real trooper, all right," smiled Choji. "I could barely feel the genjutsus she put on me. But Hinata told me later sensei tried nearly seven times to trap me with illusions, but she was there to stop them."

"In the end, we were able to capture Kurenai-sensei with my Shadow Possession technique," finished Shikamaru.

"Wow, you guy are really amazing," gushed Konohamaru.

"Maybe, but if it wasn't for Hinata, we wouldn't have been able to pass," smiled Choji.

"Amen," agreed Shikamaru.

Meanwhile, Hinata just blushed brighter. But she had a Cheshire grin on her face as well.

Naruto turned to Kiba. "What about your test?"

Kiba answered by rolling his eyes. "Well…."

* * *

"You let yourself get captured?" asked a bewildered Choza.

Shikaku nodded and took a swig of sake. "Shino and Ino were on the borderline of using all of their chakra, but they were still willing to keep fighting. If I prolonged the fight anymore, I would have most likely have a couple of chakra exhausted students. Luckily, Naruto's newest technique was a perfect excuse to get captured."

This caused everyone else to chuckle.

"Who knew the kid could actually do something with ramen dough? He's got to be a creative genius," admitted Tsume.

"How does he do it?" Kurenai asked Teuchi, who joined them at the grill.

"I'm not sure," the ramen cook admitted. "He just told me he kneads the dough with his chakra and goes with that. It can't be too difficult if Konohamaru can do it."

"It is," said Shikaku. "I've tried and all I get is a mess that Yoshino yells at me for making. Troublesome."

"So what's the secret?" asked Kurenai.

"The answer is logical," spoke Shibi, who surprised everybody by actually speaking. "We all know what village his ancestors dwelled in. With the chakra the village hidden in Whirlpools mastered, is it really impossible for Naruto to create something like this?"

There was a moment of silence before everyone smiled.

"No, it's not impossible," grinned Shikaku.

Then Tsume scared everyone by bursting out laughing like a maniac, causing everyone to stare at her.

"What's so funny?" asked Inoichi.

"I just realized who would have loved Naruto creating a Ramen Jutsu," Tsume struggled to say.

"Who?" asked Asuma.

Everyone waited for Tsume to quit laughing when Shikaku started laughing as well. When he realized everyone was staring at him with confusion, he took a deep breath.

"Come on, you know. A certain Red Habanero we all know."

* * *

With that, everyone realized who and started laughing as well.

"Kakashi-sensei tied Sakura to a stump?" laughed Ino.

Kiba nodded. "She was the one the failed the most at our exercise when she fell for a genjutsu sensei put on her. He then lectured us on the importance of teamwork, saying that supporting your comrades was more important than following the Shinobi rules. He also said that if he had to pass anyone, it would be me and Akamaru."

"Because you two work as a team already," Naruto filled in.

"Yeah. Anyway, sensei told us he would give us another chance to pass. But he told me and Sasuke not to give any of our lunch to Sakura, who said it was her punishment for being easily influenced by a simple illusion."

"What a jerk," said Choji. Actually, everyone noticed he was kind of teary.

"So me and Sasuke are eating while listening to Sakura's stomach growl nonstop. I heard her mumble that she was stupid for not eating dinner last night."

"Last night? Why the hell didn't she eat dinner?" asked Naruto.

"Diet," Ino said miserably. Naruto looked at her, noticing she had two empty plates at her feet. He felt himself swell with pride when Ino begun to take her metabolism seriously and eat more.

"Well, I wasn't about to let her starve so I gave her my plate," continued Kiba. "She looked at me like I was crazy and said we'll get in trouble for disobeying sensei's orders. I told her to just shut up and eat because I wasn't about to let my teammate starve."

"Wow, so you put Sakura in her place, huh?"

"More or less. Then, Sasuke handed her his plate and said she would need her strength to continue on. I cut her ropes so she could eat on her own when Kakashi appeared before us.

"What he do?" gasped Ino.

"Aw, man. There were storm clouds around him, his eyes were white with rage and his voice had become demonic. He demanded to know what Sasuke and I were doing disobeying his orders. We told him we were not about to let a teammate suffer just because he said so. Then sensei smiled and said we passed."

"What?" exclaimed everybody.

"Yeah, I know," Kiba laughed. "Anyway, he lectured us again on the importance of teamwork and to always look out for one another. Then we left."

There were a few moments of silence before Naruto broke it. "Is it just me, or are we going to be kept on our toes for the rest of our genin years?"

"It's just you," said a male voice behind him. Everyone looked to see Sasuke and Sakura joining them.

"Hey, Forehead. Took you long enough to get here," said Ino.

"Shut up, Pig," scowled Sakura.

* * *

"Yo," said Kakashi as he joined his fellow adults.

"Took you long enough, Kakashi. What happened this time?" asked Kurenai.

Kakashi grinned sheepishly. "You see, this new guy in the village needed directions to the Hokage tower and I-"

"Stop it," said everyone at once, causing Kakashi to sweat drop.

"I'm actually shocked that you finally passed a team," Tsume said.

"Well, they're a little rough but I believe they can shape up to be compatible shinobi when I'm through with them," explained Kakashi.

"Really?" asked Asuma.

Kakashi didn't answer, but instead opened his usual 'Make-out book-of-the-week and started reading.

"What about your team, Kurenai?" asked Asuma while throwing glares at Kakashi.

"I'm looking for to teaching them," smiled Kurenai. "Sure, Shikamaru's lazy, Choji eats all the time, and Hinata needs help with her confidence, but that's exactly why I choose them. Shikamaru has already proven himself a capable leader and immediately watches out for comrades. Choji has established himself as the attack force of the team and can take on his opponents without fear as long as he's got his teammates beside him."

"That's my boy," smirked Choza.

"Hinata…well, she needs the most work, but I can already tell she cares about her teammates without question. She's proven herself a valuable member of her team and that's lifted her confidence up. Give them enough time and I'll mold them into something special."

Everyone nodded and then turned to Shikaku. When he saw their stares, he sighed.

"Well…."

"Let me guess," interrupted Tsume. "It's 'troublesome', right?"

"Actually, I'm really looking forward to it." He saw the disbelief and scoffs on his friend's faces. "I'm serious. The techniques and teamwork I saw today: it was unbelievable. Ino rose incredibly in her abilities after been given a pep talk from Naruto and Shino and worked extremely well together. Shino was able to organize many of the attacks on me and kept me on my toes a lot better than many chunin I've faced."

"And Naruto?" asked Teuchi.

Shikaku smiled. "I don't think any of what Ino and Shino could have been done if it wasn't for Naruto. His unpredictability and spirit kept the team going and made my jaw drop a couple of times. He's already got a grasp of his chakra control along with a good head to becoming team leader."

"That boy has already changed my daughter," Inoichi smiled. "First thing she tells me after she passed today is she wants to learn more of the clan's jutsus. Oh, she asked this with a several plates of food around her as well. When I asked her about her diet, she scowled and said nothing."

"Naruto has made a tremendous impact on my son as well," said Shibi. "He's a lot more open with talking about his day and also wants to learn more about his clan's techniques as well. More importantly, he smiles when he mentions his friends."

"It seems Naruto has been helping everyone out," smiled Choza. "Choji spends every day at Ichiraku's with Shikamaru, Naruto and Hinata. Then training with them later in the day when they were at the academy."

"Dad doesn't stop talking about him either," grinned Asuma. "He says he's been a good influence on Konohamaru."

"My son said it's troublesome, but he enjoys spending more time with his friends than watching clouds."

"It looks like Kiba's enjoying his time with the group as well," said Tsume as he watched his son laugh the kids.

"It seems like you raised him up pretty well," Kakashi said towards Teuchi.

"Yeah," smiled Teuchi. "He's had a big impact on Ayame and I. Ever since he walked into the shop all those years ago."

* * *

Later in the evening, everyone had gathered along a giant bonfire in the middle of the compound. Rana had Ebisu take an exhausted Konohamaru home while Hana left to check on the animals at her clinic. Kakashi left to do….whatever. Each family sat with each other on a separate log. Hinata sat with Kurenai and Asuma while Naruto sat with the Ichirakus. Sasuke left early and Sakura looked like she was going to follow, but instead sat down on the same log as Kiba and his mother.

"So what do we do now?" asked Shikaku.

"We could tell ghost stories," grinned Kiba.

Naruto shivered. "Uh…maybe not." He was leaning against the log while Ayame sat on it with Naruto leaning against her legs.

"You're not scared of ghosts, are you Naruto?" asked Choji.

"Umm….well….no, but I don't want scare Ayame," he sheepishly lied.

"Are you still scared of the ramen ghost told you about when we were kids?" teased Ayame. Everyone laughed out loud while Naruto scowled at his girlfriend.

"A ramen ghost? Are you serious?" laughed Shikamaru.

"Please tell us, Ayame. I'm eager to hear this," Shino actually snickered.

"Ok. You see, on a night very much like this, two young genins were walking down the street…" began Ayame. Everyone leaned in to hear the story while Naruto hugged his knees in fear.

Yes, the story was pathetically simple and childish, but Naruto was only a kid when he heard first heard it. It didn't help with his friends snickering around him at his childhood fear. And even though he was older, he still felt scared the more Ayame progressed with the story.

"….all that was left were two empty ramen bowls," Ayame ended the story dramatically.

"No. No! NOOOOO!" yelled Naruto as he huddled in the fetal position at Ayame's feet. Meanwhile, everyone else was laughing at Naruto's fear.

"Aw, man. How can you be scared of that?" laughed Kiba.

All the adults were smiling at Naruto with sympathy and hilarity. Choji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura were laughing nonstop. Hinata had turned bright red in effort to silence her giggles. Shino's shoulders were slight shaking as laughed.

Ayame giggled as she pulled Naruto up and hugged him from behind. "I'm sorry, Naru-kun."

"See if I rescue you again," mumbled the blonde.

"Anybody got another story?" asked Choza.

Naruto suddenly brightened and dug a hand into his pockets. "How about a song?"

"NO! No campfire songs!" Ino demanded.

Naruto rolled his eyes and pulled out his ocarina. "Not that. How about I play a song on this?"

Ayame clapped her hands together. "I've always wanted to hear to you play."

"Where did you get that?" asked Shikaku.

"Iruka-sensei gave it to me," said Naruto. "Here's a new song I just learned." With that, he put the flute to his lips and began to play.

The eerie, haunting sound of the flute began to echo through the air around the campfire. It was a song he learned from a music book he got in the library. It's about a warrior who sacrificed himself to save his comrades by using an evil power. When the evil began to take over, he asked his comrades to seal himself away to so he wouldn't cause any harm.

Naruto didn't know how long he played, but when he was done, he felt better than he did earlier. He opened his eyes to see everyone staring at him. The second he stopped playing, everyone heard a wolf howl in the distance.

"Wow, that was actually kind of….chilling," admitted Sakura.

"The song was so freaky, but sorrowful at the same time," said Choji.

"Yes, it was very sad," Hinata whispered.

"What was the name of the song?" asked Kurenai.

"_The Curse of Zen Aku_," said Naruto.

A slight breeze wafted through the campfire, causing everyone to shiver. Naruto smiled as he felt Ayame hug him tighter.

"Wow, you didn't need a story to scare us. You needed a song," Kiba said.

"Do you know any others?" asked Yoshino. "Any non-scary songs?"

Naruto smiled and began to play _Lugia's Song_.

* * *

It seems that Naruto wasn't the only one to succumb to the lullaby as the sleepy parents growled their sarcastic thanks to the blonde as they carried their sleeping kids back homes. Naruto thought he got his revenge for laughing at them earlier when Teuchi yawned and asked him to carry Ayame home.

Carrying her piggyback, Naruto was eager to get back home and begin reading his mother's journals. He told Teuchi all about it as they made their way back.

"So you see, the reason the Fourth sealed me away is in the journals," he explained.

"Wow, that's very interesting," said Teuchi.

Naruto was silent for a few moments before asking the same question he asked earlier. "Hey, Pops? If you were the Hokage during the attack, would have you sealed the Fox Spirit into Ayame."

Teuchi turned to Naruto with a tense look. "That's a very strong and personal question to ask, Naruto."

"I know and I'm sorry for asking," Naruto apologized. "But it's just a question that has been bugging me for the past few days."

"Well I'm lucky to say that I have never been given that responsibility," Teuchi admitted. Then the man bowed his head and stared at his feet. "But I too have thought of situations where the possibility has been present."

"What?"

Teuchi took a deep breath. "Every since Ayame's mother passed away, I was always plagued with the question 'what would I do to protect Ayame?'. It's a question every father asks himself when he starts a family. Of course, the answer is always the same."

"What is it?" asked Naruto.

Teuchi turned to Naruto with a small smile. "That I would do anything, even giving my life, to protect that which I love most."

Naruto chuckled. "You sound like a Hokage to me."

"Maybe, but I couldn't handle the responsibility of so many people," Teuchi grinned. "Having a family that big would be too troublesome."

"Family? Did Jiji give you the Will of Fire speech too?"

"Hiruzen told me something of the sort." Then Teuchi stopped and looked at Naruto. "When you become Hokage, will the village be your family as well?"

"Of course it will," said Naruto.

"Then you have to consider what the Fourth thought as he stared at the Nine-Tails twelve years ago. Not what he would do to protect his village, but to protect his family. If by keeping the village and you alive was to seal the demon into you, would that be the correct choice? Is that worth dying for? To protect those you love?"

Naruto was stunned for a few moments. He had thought about giving his life to protect the village, but not the way the Fourth did. Now looking back, Naruto realized the stress and fatigue the Third suffered even after doing the job for nearly 30 years and having nearly twelve years of peace.

Maybe sealing the Kyubi into Naruto wasn't the correct choice, but the Fourth's only choice.

"Yeah," said Naruto. "I think I'm beginning to understand."

"About time," said Teuchi as he ruffled up Naruto's hair.

* * *

Naruto gently placed Ayame onto her bed and sat down beside her.

"Sorry about the early bedtime," said Naruto.

"Sorry? I should be thanking you," yawned Teuchi. "I haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time."

"Well, I better get-" Naruto started before Ayame wrapped her arms around Naruto's waist and pulled him back down. He began to panic, thinking that Teuchi would kick his ass like a father should, but was annoyed when Teuchi smirked.

"Good night, son," he snickered as he walked out of the room.

Naruto grumbled and tried to get in a comfortable position with Ayame's death grip around his middle. But he couldn't fall asleep. While being snuggled warmly against his girlfriend was something he would never pass up, he was a little bummed that he would have to wait until tomorrow to start on his mom's journals. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the object that fell out of the books earlier on.

It was a picture of his mother when she entered the academy at the age of eight. The picture was faded, but still had color. She was wearing a formal kimono for ceremonial events. She had a round face with violet eyes and bright red hair. When he first saw her face, he thought he was looking at a mirror when he realized they had the same eye and facial structure.

He smiled when he saw the frown on her face and he could probably understand why. Her hair was done in a way was shaped like a tomato. He would probably be frowning too.

Naruto stared at the picture for a few minutes before placing it back into his pocket.

* * *

"So…what are we doing here?" asked Naruto. He and Shino were waiting underneath the same as yesterday at the training grounds. They arrived on time and were waiting on Shikaku.

"I don't know, although I know why gave us the day off," grumbled Shino.

"You're sore, aren't you," grinned Naruto.

"Of course. I thought the academy trained us within the limits of genin stamina. Yesterday was insane."

"Well, like you said, better get used to it." Naruto then looked around for his other teammate. "Where's Ino."

Shino shrugged. A few minutes later, a new sound came announced Ino's presence.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."

Ino came into view, walking stiffly towards them. Each of her steps was gradually taken with ease.

"Hey, Ino! Want to train a little?" Naruto yelled.

"Shut the f*%k up!" she yelled back, causing Naruto to flinch.

"I'm sorry."

"No, no, I shouldn't have snapped," Ino muttered. "I've just never been this sore before."

"Is that not a good thing? It means you have begun to take this seriously," explained Shino.

Ino stared at him for a moment before smiling. "Yeah, it is."

A moment later, a puff of smoke enveloped them and Shikaku was standing there with a leather bag to his belt.

"Good morning, Team Ten."

"Good morning, sensei," they chorused.

"Now, I know you're tired and sore," he chuckled. Ino scowled. "So we'll make this quick. I want to do two things. First." He pulled three pieces of paper from his pocket and handed one to each of his students.

"What are these," asked Naruto.

"Chakra papers. These papers were grown from the trees that use a special kind of chakra to grow. By channeling your chakra into this paper, I'll be able to tell what your elemental chakra is."

"Seriously?" asked Ino.

"Yes. Why don't you go first?"

Ino took the paper in her hands, closed her eyes and focused. A moment later, her paper erupted in flames causing her to drop it in surprise.

"A fire element. How appropriate for a hot-tempered blond," said Shikaku.

"Bite me, sensei," Ino muttered while rubbing her burnt fingers.

"Your turn, Shino."

Shino held his between the tips of his fingers. After Ino's demonstration, he didn't want to have the same incident. However, his paper crumbled in his hands.

"Lightning. Huh, I guess that means you're a lightning bug," snickered Shikaku.

Shino didn't say anything as he put his paper in his pocket. But Naruto saw from his posture and eyebrows that he was annoyed with the nickname.

"And finally."

Naruto placed the paper in his fingertips and focused his chakra. A moment later, the paper split into two pieces.

"Wind. Well that makes sense. You're full of hot air anyway."

"Hey!"

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things."

"Damn straight," muttered Naruto.

"Anyway, know that you know your elements, I'll make arrangements for you to meet up with other shinobi who have the same elements during our training sessions. But they will only be able to give you the basics. Learning elemental jutsus will be up to you. Understand?"

"Yes, sensei," Team ten chorused.

"Now for the final part of our meeting." Shikaku reached into the bag and pulled out a camera. "Team photo time!"

A moment later, Team ten face-faulted.

"You brought us here for a picture?" asked Naruto.

"I don't even have my hair done," complained Ino.

"Well, too bad. This is my wife's camera and this was the only time I could sneak it away from the house. I need to get it back before noon so she won't notice I took it."

Shikaku placed the camera on a stump and adjusted the settings. Meanwhile, Ino was desperately trying to fix her hair.

"Don't worry, Ino. Your hair looks nice," said Shino.

Ino froze for a moment before smiling gently. "Thank you Shino." Naruto grinned as noticed Shino turn the slightest pink.

"Ok, now we got ten seconds!" interrupted Shikaku. He pushed the kids forward and in front of the camera. "Pick a cool pose and say cheese!"

Naruto stood on the left. He gave an eye-closed smile while giving two peace sign hands. Shino stood on the right. His glasses and high collar didn't exactly give him an expression. Ino stood in the middle. She gave a peace sign while giving the camera a wink. Shikaku stood behind them. His arms were crossed with a grin on his face.

"Cheese!"

* * *

Well, what do you think? Yes, there are some parts I didn't stick to the original canon, but hey, this is a fanfiction website. Canon rules don't apply. That's why the title says 'Unleash your Imagination'.


	9. Interrogations and Missions

I AM SO FREAKING SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I got a new laptop the other day, but have been a little rusty in my writing. Forgive me if there are too many mispellings or grammer errors. I also got a new job and now have to work from 6PM to 6AM. It pays well, but is very time consuming. I'll try to update more as soon as I can. Enjoy.

* * *

The subject stalked it's way through the forest, it's ears always moving to the slightest sound. Every now and then, it would pause to sniff the air for any enemies that may be lurking nearby. It knew it would only be a matter of time before his worst nightmare would send it's minions after him.

Right on cue, three figures silently landed behind the bushes only 50 yards away. On instinct, one figure leapt into the trees on the subject's right while the second figure hurried along the brush line on the subject's left. In seconds, the three ninjas had the subject surrounded in a triangle formation. Each one ready at a moment's notice to spring their trap on the subject.

The ninja in the trees tapped the mic on the collar. "This is Scorpion. I'm in position."

The second ninja behind the tree did the same. "This is Princess. I'm waiting for the signal."

The final ninja behind the brush nodded. "Miso acknowledges. Scorpion, when you're ready, engage the subject."

Scorpion tapped his microphone, signaling he understood. Watching the subject, he raised his arms and let loose his army to surround the clearing. Slowly, the army inched their way to the subject.

When Miso saw the trap set, he signaled to Princess to spring the trap. She charged the subject, which it immediately noticed. It turned to run into the safety of the trees only to be blocked by a wall of insects. It roared in frustration and turned to face its attacker head on in one final stand. It wasn't going back.

Too bad it didn't notice Miso drop from the air until it was too late. Before it could defend itself, Miso already grabbed the scruff around its neck and lifted him into the air.

"Gotcha," he declared. He smiled as the subject struggled in his grip, hoping to catch the boy with his claws.

Scorpion walked to the group with his hand on his microphone. "This is Scorpion, calling Shadow Stalker. We have the subject in custody."

There was a pause before a voice answered into their earpieces. "Can you confirm it's the one?"

Scorpion nodded. "We have a ribbon on the right ear. It's definitely our subject."

"Congratulations, Team 10. You've broken the record on the fastest capture for Tora the cat."

* * *

Naruto walked towards the Hokage tower with a smile on his face and Tora in a cat carrier. The cat was hissing spit with a vengeance at the thought of returning to it's master. Ino was grinning with satisfaction at the thought of having a quick and successful mission, along with the fact the damn cat was getting what it deserved after she got scratched in the face by the little monster a week before. Shino, stoic as ever, walked behind his teammates. While his teammates may be lax in their victory, he wasn't going to take any chances of Tora escaping. Still, he couldn't keep the slightest hint of a smirk off his face.

It has been a month since Team 10 was formed. Like any genin team, they stuck working with D-rank missions given to them by the Hokage and Iruka. The missions were, of course, simple chores for genin to gain experience at working as a team. They ranged from weeding gardens, painting fences, walking dogs, picking up litter, repairing training fields, and of course, catching Tora.

But they also had other work as well. In fact, from dawn till dusk, every free moment was used for training. Team 10 got up at six every morning for a basic workout, which included running laps around the village, pushups with weights, chin-ups, tree walking and water walking. By ten, they would request a mission and strove to complete it by lunch. Then they would work on their team exercises, taijutsu, and ninjutsu until Shikaku called it quits. They would then do another D-rank mission and be dismissed for the day.

After that, Naruto would return to work at Ichiraku's or continue training. He had almost mastered water walking and was working on using other parts of his body to stand on the water.

Ino and Shino would return to their clan's compound and would practice with their parents on their clan's techniques. But not before having a bowl with Naruto and Team 8 at Ichiraku's.

Naruto's skills have grown far more than what anyone could have participated. His body had become a rock-solid built with both strength and speed. His Ramen techniques have grown more adequate and now didn't require him to call out the Jutsu's name. His shadow clone technique had become more developed as well. Through trial and error, he had been able to combine his taijutsu and hand signs to quickly create a shadow clone in the middle of a battle to aid him in his fights.

Ino's style had grown as well. Her determination since their test became unwavering, which resulted in her trying her hardest at any test that came her way. Now eating a proper diet and pushing her hardest in training, Ino had a skill beyond anything a teacher had seen. Her body had grown from less-than-average size to one with power. Her arms and legs showed their signs of intense training along with an abdomen that made many boys and older perverts stop in their tracks. Her physique had now become one envied by many girls in the village. Several times, Naruto and Shino had to glower at many pedophiles that were throwing looks of lust at her.

Shino had grown stronger as well, but his jacket prevented him showing it off. His teammates and teacher could tell he had become stronger from their spars. His taijutsu had leapt in bounds as well, now that he focused more on hand-to hand combat instead of relying on his insects. Naruto and Ino's favorite pastime had become watching him his is 'Mantis Style' against a revolving training dummy. His moves had evolved from a quick blur to a whirlwind of arms. The dummy spun so fast one time that it actually flew off the ground in a helicopter style and landed 50 feet away.

That wasn't the only training they were going through. Shikaku wasn't kidding when he said he was training them to prepare for anything. Every once in a while, Shikaku would bring a teacher along who specialized in a certain field to come and train them.

Their first training session was tracking with Tsume Inuzuka, Kiba's mother. A member of the special ops hunter inns, she was always recommended in hunting an enemy shinobi along with her ninkin, Kuromaru. Tsume had taken them on a three day hunting trip on her special training field built especially for these purposes. She spent the trip showing them how recognize obvious signs when tracking an enemy, from footprints, disturbed grass and branches to more harder signs, like on solid rock, backtracking and water tracking.

After that, they were given sword training by a sickly man named Hayate. Nearly coughing continuously through their training, he showed them several different katas, strikes and tricks to always gain an advantage over an enemy. He then gave them wooden swords and made them spar against him. Sometimes one-on-one or all three at the same time. Each time, he defeated them easily. But everyone took the training seriously, which earned them good points in Hayate's terms.

Then, it was training at the hospital to show them how treat an injured comrade in the field and basic healing jutsus. Ino and surprisingly Shino both seamed to have a natural talent for healing. Both were giving recommendations for healing classes in their spare time.

Next was practice in Sealing techniques. The team was shown how use basic sealing uses in everything from equipment to bodies. They were given a crash course on the basic brush strokes that were used. Just like calligraphy, the smallest mistake could ruin the sealing technique. In this session, only Naruto seemed to have talent.

Things got really interesting last week, when Shikaku took them to the Interogation department.

* * *

_"My, my, what do we have here?" said the woman who frankly scared all three genin. She was wearing a long, beige trench coat. Underneath it left little to the imagination with a full-body fishnet suit and a miniskirt. She also had this grin that seemed to be carved by the Shinigami himself._

_The lady walked forward and pressed her face very close to Naruto's. "Fresh meat, huh? And I bet you guys are virgins at this, aren't you?"_

_Then pressed her face to Ino's. "Well, I promise I'll be as gentle as I can."_

_Finally, she moved to Shino. "Well, maybe some of you," she finished as she stroke a finger against Shino's cheek. Naruto and Ino noticed Shino freeze up, a move most people wouldn't have noticed._

_"Anko, quit scaring them," Shikaku muttered. The woman laughed and led them down the hallway of the basement._

_"You know it's fun," anwered Anko. "Breaking in newbies is more fun than watching a guy piss himself in fear from Ibiki's interrogations."_

_"Ibiki?" Ino tried not to whimper._

_"The head of the Interrogation department," answered Shikaku._

_Anko led them to a dark room that was lit by the room next to it. The light was passing through a window where Team 10 could see a large man with his haitai tied around his head. He was wearing a long, dark trench coat and had several scars similar to Shikaku's on his face. He was circling a frightened man in prisoner clothes who looked terrified out of his mind. The genin saw Ibiki mutter a few choice words and the prisoner's complexion turn completely white. He suddenly started screaming mindlessly and Ibiki left the room. He came into their room a few second later._

_"It was Colonol Mustard with a rope in the parlor," said Ibiki. His voice had a tone that made the genin shiver with fear._

_"Damn it! I was sure it was Professor Plum," cursed Anko. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a hundred ryo bill, which she handed to Ibiki. His gaze landed on Team 10._

_"So what do we have here? New recruits?" grinned Ibiki. Ino squeaked and hid behind Naruto and Shino._

_"We're just here for crash course in interrogating, Ibiki," explained Shikaku. "I want them trained in as many departments as possible."_

_Ibiki nodded. "Perfect. I'm tired of idiots waiting to bring prisoners here to interrogate when they have a chance at escaping during the transport."_

_"Which is why I brought them here," Shikaku finished._

_Ibiki studied them for a moment. His calculating eyes made Naruto feel like he was being under a microscope._

_"Alright, you maggots. Listen up. I'm not going to treat you guys with kid gloves. What I do is real and ugly, but it's a necessary factor for the village. We're called the interrogation department, but we also use torturing methods to get our answers from our prisoners. It may be inhumane, but necessary."_

_Naruto felt Ino quaking with fear behind him. He moved his hand in the slightest behind his back and lightly touched her hand. He saw Shino do the same, which Ino calmed down._

_Ibiki began to untie his bandana. "Sometimes you may have use the most horrible things imaginable to get your information." He pulled his headband off and Team 10 stiffened. "I know from fact."_

_He had no hair on his head, making the scars only more noticeable. There were several slashes from knives, burns marks and screw points scattered over his scalp. He then took off one his gloves, which were just as bad. His left hand had to fingernails on it and the tips were wrinkled with needle points. Each finger looked like it had been broken several times. His pinky and ring finger were burned a horrible black. Finally, his palm had the character 'monster' carved into it._

_Naruto felt sick, but tried not show it. This guy was obviously a pro at what he did and had his own share of being captured and tortured._

_Shino was stiff, but Naruto saw a few beads of sweat roll down his brow. Ino began to hyperventilate. She knew her father worked for the same department as Ibiki, but she never thought this was what he did. Her breath quickened and her body began to shake._

_Shino and Naruto noticed this. Before Naruto could do anything, Shino grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Ino then began to calm down, taking several deep breaths._

_Naruto decided it was time to something brave/stupid. He turned to Ibiki. "We got the point, Scarface. Now if you don't mind, I like to get started. We're burning daylight."_

_Anko and Shikaku's eyes widened with surprise. The last guy Ibiki showed his scars to went into catatonic shock. Nobody, not even the bravest prisoners, talked to Ibiki like that._

_Ibiki stared hard at Naruto for several moments. When he saw the boy wasn't going to back down, he began to chuckle. It then began to become a full booming laugh as he tied his bandana back onto his head._

_"I like you, kid. You got a lot of guts. Not a lot of brains, but plenty of guts." He then smiled at the group. "Are you sure you want to do this? It's not pretty, but necessary."_

_Naruto and Shino nodded immediately. Ino did a few seconds later, still holding onto Shino's hand._

_"Ok, then," said Ibiki. "We've got three prisoners here with us today. Each one has been suspected of being a traitor and working for a group outside the village. Your job is to find out who their working for. By any means necessary."_

_The team nodded._

* * *

_Shino volunteered to go first. He walked into the room where the previous prisoner was held. He waited for his turn while Ibiki, Anko, Shikaku, Ino and Naruto waited in the other room, watching his progress._

_A few seconds later, two ANBU guards brought in a man in a prisoner uniform. He was bald, overweight, and fighting his restrainers. The guards brought him to a chair bolted into the center of the room and restrained him to it. Once they were done, they immediately left._

_The man spotted Shino and began to laugh. "A kid? They brought some brat to torture me?"_

_Shino walked to the prisoner and looked down at him. "I assure you that I'm a fully-capable torturer for the Hidden Leaf. You're in good hands."_

_The man scoffed. "Sure you are. Are you done playing grown-up? You're not exactly scaring me if I'm in 'good hands.'"_

_Shino pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Maybe. But I think I fully capable now. My teacher was really angered with me for killing the last prisoner before I could get the information I wanted." This caused the man to freeze._

_"Whoa, that was good," Anko chuckled as she pressed her face to the glass. Naruto nodded in agreement. After being with Shino more, he could now tell the difference between his voice patterns, if they may sound the same to everyone else._

_"Wh..What do you mean by?" asked the prisoner._

_"I'm afraid I might have a little too…..eager…with my last interrogation. I wanted it to be quick and may have gotten ahead of myself. He suffocated quicker than I anticipated."_

_"What the hell did you do to him?"_

_Shino didn't answer. Instead, he raised his arms and called for his insects. The kikaichu slowly exited out of Shino's jacket and began to hover around the man's head, buzzing loudly. The prisoner began to twitch and fight his restraints._

_"Don't you like my beauties? Well, they like you. Or more importantly, your blood."_

_"I like this kid," said Ibiki as he looked forward with hungry eyes._

_"They like blood. But burrowing into the skin takes too much time, too much energy. If they get a chance, they will enter through the mouth. It is easier to burrow into your veins when they don't have to go through layers of skin and muscle."_

_On cue, the kikaichu began to hover closer to the man's head. He immediately shut his mouth as the insects began to land on his face._

_"I'm afraid that won't work. I found out from my other interrogations that any orifice will due. Like your ears, which will lead directly into your brain." The prisoner began to thrash more wildly. "Through your eyes, which is easier than muscle." The prisoner shut his eyelids and began to breathe more heavily. "And even your nose."_

_"But this time I want to try something different. By entering through the head, there is always the possibility of entering your brain and accidentally causing damage. That, I'm afraid, will render you useless and a mountain of paperwork for me. So this time, I'll try lower."_

_The man's eyes snapped open in fear as he felt the insects begin to land on his feet and crawl up his leg inside his pants. He could feel them crawling higher each second._

_"The question now is: Which orifice? Through the tube or in the back door," Shino smiled._

_"OKOKOK! I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK!_

* * *

_"Anko, give this kid an application," said Ibiki._

_The ANBU led the hysterical prisoner out of the room. Shino came in later. The smile on his face was gone. Naruto noticed a slight shake of his shoulders and his head was bowed a little lower than normal. Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. Shino stared hard at him, before the boy nodded._

_"I'll be fine," said Shino. "I'm just a little startled." Naruto patted his shoulder while Ino did the same on his arm._

_Ibiki nodded, but Anko scoffed. "Wimp," she muttered._

_Ino scowled at the woman. "I'm sorry not all of us are cold, sadistic monsters like you."_

_Anko glared at Ino, but the blonde stood her ground. They stared hard at each for several moments._

_"Just for that, you can next, blondie," Anko growled._

_Ino seemed to freeze for a moment, but her glare came back._

_"Fine," Ino muttered. She left the room, her footsteps echoing down the hall._

_Shino immediately turned to the window, followed by Naruto. They watched her enter the room and began to pace in front of the chair. The two genin could see her trying to hide her fear._

_A few minutes later, the ANBU guards brought in the next prisoner. A thin man with scraggly, gray hair and sunken, yellow eyes. He almost looked like a zombie. Ino stood by and watched from the corner as the man was strapped into the chair. Once that was done and the guards had left, the prisoner began to take in his surroundings. He spotted Ino in the corner. Instead of disbelief like the last one, the man frowned at his interrogator._

_"You? Your the one?"_

_Ino nodded firmly, but her eyes still wide. "Don't be so shocked. I'm here to get any information you might be carrying that may be hazardous to the Leaf village and it's people."_

_"But you're just a girl."_

_Despite her fear, Ino rolled her eyes. "Well observed. I'm a fully capable kunoichi in this department and you will tell me what I need to know."_

_The man's face fell and a look of anger replaced it. "I'm not talking. I'll take my secret to my grave."_

_Ino stepped closer to the man. "I will find out. You cannot hide any secrets from me."_

_A rather evil smile appeared on the man's face. "I like the see you try. I've lived long enough and would look forward to passing onto the next world. No amount of pain or fear can change that."_

_Likewise, a wicked smile appeared on Ino's face. One that made Naruto and Shino shiver. "Oh, I won't be using any knives, screws, or thumbtacks. In fact, you won't feel a thing."_

_When the man didn't answer, Ino walked to wall opposite of the chair and sat down. She then pushed her hands forward into a hand sign only Shikaku and Ibiki recognized._

_"Wait a moment, that's Yamanaka's kid?" Ibiki asked._

_Shikaku nodded. "Yep. And it looks like she has learned her dad's technique."_

_"What technique, sensei?" asked Naruto._

_Before Shikaku could answer, Ino pointed her hand sign at the prisoner._

_"**Memory Scan Jutsu."**_

_Ino and the prisoner both went slackened and fell unconscious. Shino and Naruto both started to leave and check to see if she was all right before Shikaku grabbed their arms._

_"Don't worry, she'll be alright."_

_"What is she doing, sensei?" asked Naruto._

_"It's one of the many techniques developed by the Yamanka clan. The Memory Scan let's the caster merge their spirit into the victim's mind and look into their memories. It's a lot less troublesome than torturing them for hours on end."_

_"It's also one of the reasons why Inoichi is my top interrogator," finished Ibiki._

_"Hey!" Anko yelled._

_"But if Ino's dad can simply look into their memories, why do you do what you do, Ibiki-san?" asked Naruto._

_Ibiki grinned. "It's fun."_

_Naruto paled and turned back to the interrogation. He noticed that Shino's stare had never left her._

_It was a few minutes later until Ino began to move. In one jerk motion, she gasped and snapped her head off her chest. At the same time, so did the prisoner. Ino breathed heavily for a few moments, a look of horror on her face. She finally regained her footing and stood up. She then marched over to the prisoner and kicked the man between his legs._

_"You are a sick bastard!" she yelled. She then proceeded to kick the man again and again._

_Shikaku rushed out of the room and into the other. He grabbed Ino around her waist and dragged her out._

* * *

_Minutes later, Ino and Shikaku returned to the room. Shikaku looked a little sick while Ino seemed to be fighting back tears. However, when saw her teammates, the dam broke and Ino began to sob. She rushed into the closest person, which happened to be Shino. His eyebrows rising was the only indication of his surprise. But he wrapped an arm around her and held her close while she clung to his jacket. Naruto walked up and patted her on the shoulder._

_"Sometimes, even I can still be shocked by the evil of men," Shikaku muttered._

_"What was it, Shikaku-sensei?" asked Shino._

_"Ino discovered the man was hiding the location of an underground prostitution and slave ring that borders on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. Women and children were being sold to the highest bidder. Sometimes as young as 12 years."_

_Ino sobbed once and Shino held her a little tighter. Naruto began to feel sick. Iruka didn't go in-depth of the horrors people had been capable of, but he did say some missions can scar ninja for life. The only way to learn these horrors was to experience them. There was no way they could be explained._

_"Anko has already submitted a report to the Hokage. In a few hours, a jonin squad will be dispatched to find these locations and put an end to them," explained a somber Shikaku. He then turned to Naruto. "It's your turn now."_

_Naruto nodded and walked into the next room. Immediately inside, he detected the faint smell of blood and gristle staining the chair and the walls along with salty smell of tears and a faint trace of urine. It almost made him gag. The walls were painted a dark green color with a single lightbulb dangling from the ceiling. The window he had been previously looking through now only showed his reflection. He gave a slight nod in its direction, signaling he was ready._

_At least he hoped he was._

_A few seconds later, two ANBU guards pushed a struggling man through the door. This time, a bag was covering his head, hiding his features. The man fought each second he could that it took a few minutes to be restrained in the chair. Once he was, the guards pulled the bag off his head. Naruto had to stiffen a gasp._

_It was Mizuki._

_"Aw, crap," Naruto muttered. "This day keeps getting better and better."_

_Mizuki blinked several times before his focused on Naruto. Immediately he began to thrash._

_"You little bastard! I'm going to kill you!"_

_Naruto was startled at first, but put on a brave face. He most likely knew why Mizuki was being interrogated. "You're not in a position to kill anyone, traitor. You're going to tell me why stole a forbidden scroll from the Hokage Tower. Being a chunin, you know a crime like that could result in your death."_

_"Shut it, demon," snapped Mizuki. "You should be the one on trial and strapped to this chair. After all, you're the one that stole it, not me."_

_"I was following orders from my superior, who had hostages," Naruto snapped back. He pulled a kunai from his pocket "You threatened my girlfriend! You tried to kill her and a fellow chunin!"_

_"I should have gutted her when I had the-AAARRGGHH."_

_Naruto jammed the knife into Mizuki's shoulder. He left it there a few seconds before slowly pulling it out. Mizuki started panting and thrashing._

_"Next time I won't be so gentle," muttered Naruto._

_Mizuki took several deep breaths and said,"You're only proving to everyone behind the glass that you really are a monster. I wonder what you're little bitch would-AAARRRGGHH!"_

_"That's twice, traitor," Naruto said as he pulled the knife out of the new wound in Mizuki's other shoulder. "Next time, we'll start with your toes."_

_Blood pouring freely from the wound, Mizuki still glared daggers at the blonde. "You'll never get anything out of me."_

_"Out of you? Mmm," Naruto scratched his chin. "That's a good idea. Let's get that information out of your system." He pulled out a small piece of ramen dough from his pouch and began to roll it into a ball._

_"What the hell are you doing," Mizuki asked._

_Naruto didn't answer. He walked up to the prisoner and grabbed a hold of his nose. Mizuki tried to fight back, but he was gasping for air a few seconds later. Naruto shoved the dough into his mouth, careful to avoid the teeth Mizuki was now trying to use. Once the dough was in his mouth, Naruto closed it shut and punched Mizkuki in the stomach. The man choked and gasped, but swallowed it. He then began to chuckle._

_"If you're trying poison me, could you have given a better last meal?"_

_"If you don't tell me what you know, it's going to be," said Naruto. He put his hands together in the 'ram' symbol._

_Mizuki smirked as he watched the genin make a symbol while nothing happened. He decided to get comfortable and took a deep breath. But he noticed immediately his lungs wouldn't fill up. He tried again only for a hoarse whisper to escape his lips. He tried again and again, his panic beginning to rise._

_Naruto released his hands and Mizuki began to breathe. "That worked better than I thought."_

_"What the hell did you do me?" gasped Mizuki._

_"My newest creation: T**he Dough Balloon Jutsu**," smirked Naruto. "I must admit, this one is a little unusual. It uses oxygen to swell to a larger size, in which the mass increases as well as the weight. I can make as big as I want to. Right now, the dough is still in your esophagus, which is pressing up against you lungs and sucking the air right out. So the question is how big you can swell up before you talk or pop like an over-cooked hot dog."_

_"You…sick…bastard," panted Mizuki. His smirk was gone. Now his eyes showed a faint fear._

_"Maybe I am. But guess what, if you tell me why you stole the scroll, I'll stop," offered Naruto._

_Mizuki seemed to hesitate a moment before he shook his head. "No, I'll never tell you."_

_"Wrong answer." Naruto formed the hand signs again and Mizuki felt the dough begin to swell up. The air was sucked out of his lungs and the dough was expanding inside him. He could feel his organs being pressed against his ribcage. After a few seconds, Naruto released the jutsu once again. Mizuki gasped for breath, a slow trickle of blood came from the corner of his mouth. He began to cough as well._

_"It's most likely your organs have been damaged," said Naruto. "I don't know much about human analogy, but you most likely need a doctor right about now. Now, Mizuki-sensei, you got three choices. One, you can tell me what you know and you can get the help you need. Two, you can say nothing and slowly die of internal bleeding. Three, you can say nothing, insult me some more, and we can play 'pop goes the weasel'. Now what's it going to be?"_

_Mizuki coughed up more blood. He looked up at Naruto with loathing and fear. Naruto stared right back with determination, but also a slight plea in his eyes. Mizuki bowed his head in what looked like defeat and Naruto leaned forward to hear his answer. However, Mizuki snapped his head up and spat a glob of blood in Naruto's face._

_Naruto wiped the blood away and glared at Mizuki. "Have it your way. I hope you find peace in the next world."_

_He put his hand signs together and cast the jutsu once more. Mizuki began to gasp, his chest beginning to slightly expand along with is stomach. In a few seconds, he now looked like a slight overweight man. It was soon the man's body begin to throb, threatening to burst._

_Naruto closed his eyes, not prepared to witness what was about to happen. He knew the dough inside had to be the size of a child's kick ball. It was now a matter of seconds._

_"O..Or…"_

_Naruto snapped his eyes open and cancelled the jutsu. "You said something?"_

_Mizuki choked, more blood pouring from his mouth. His head sat limply on his chest. "Oro…Orochi…maru."_

* * *

Next was a blur. Mizuki was rushed to the hospital while Team 10 and Shikaku was immediately transported to the Hokage's office by Ibiki. The genin were confused and tried to ask Shikaku what was going on. He only told them to be silent and what for the Hokage's orders, who at the time was being briefed quietly by Ibiki. When he finished, Sarutobi's eyes were wide as he gazed at the genin.

He then ordered them that what they heard was now considered an A-rank secret and that they were not to discuss it with anyone other than those who had heard it. He then dismissed them with a full week's pay.

Naruto shook his head as he thought of that day. He didn't discuss it with Ayame or Teuchi, but they did notice him being extremely depressed for the past days. In fact, they noticed Team 10 were all depressed.

"Are you ok?" asked Ino.

"I'm fine," Naruto answered. "Just thinking about what's happened this past week."

Ino frowned. "I try not to. I'm still having nightmares."

"I as well," added Shino.

"Me, too," admitted Naruto.

A silence fell over them again. They listened to the happy conversations going around them in the markets and streets. Remembering they were once like that, completely oblivious to what happens in the shadows of the village.

"This hasn't been a good week," said Shino.

"Which day? The interrogation or what happened three days ago?"

* * *

_To get their minds of their nightmares and back into training, Shikaku arranged for them to be taught by a taijutsu master for the day to see if their bodies were designed for a specific fighting style. Also, the master was bringing a his students, one of who was a weapons expert and could help them find a weapon if they wanted one._

_Waiting for them on training field 5, Shikaku was giving them a final pep talk._

_"When you meet Gai-sensei, don't be shocked if he's a little…eccentric," added Shikaku._

_"What do you mean by…" Shino tried to say when all four of them noticed a cloud of dust heading in their direction at an insane amount of speed. It was then followed by a loud, charging yell. It was then the genin realized this bullet was a man. A man who looked it was about to charge them over when he came to a sudden stop in front of them._

_"Victory! The power of youth has given me the strength to arrive first!" the man yelled. Team 10 stared in shock at the newcomer. He was dressed in green leotard with bright, orange leg warmers. He was also wearing his leaf headband around his waist and a jonin vest. His black hair was cut in a bowl style. But what seemed to be to be noticeable(shocking) was the man's teeth, which were sparkling them to blindness._

_"Hello, Gai," greeted Shikaku._

_"Yosh! And a good afternoon to you as well, Shikaku-san!" Gai then noticed the genin and smiled his bright smile. "And these must be the scamps I have the privilege of teaching this most youthful afternoon."_

_"Shikaku-sensei?" Ino whispered worriedly._

_"It's ok, Ino," he whispered._

_"Ah! Here comes the first of my youthful students!" yell Gai, waving behind him._

_Team 10 turned to see a similar blur heading in their direction, wearing the same clothes. A few seconds later, a boy their age skidded to a halt in from of them._

_"I have arrived, Gai-sensei!" yelled the boy. He was an exact duplicate of Gai, excluding the jonin jacket. He also had bigger, dark pupils and the bushiest eyebrows anyone had ever seen._

_"Ah, right on time! Team 10, allow me to introduce my pupil. The taijutsu genius...Ro-"_

_"Rocky?" asked Naruto._

_A faint memory of Naruto's year where he failed his first test. A genin who had no talent in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, only rocky Taijutsu. A boy, like Naruto, who would never give up. A boy who was a great friend._

_The boy, Rock Lee, turned to Naruto, his mouth gaped in surprise._

_"Naruto? Can that you be you?" he asked._

_Naruto jumped forward and grabbed the boy in a noogie hold. "Believe it! I can't believe you're here, you bonehead."_

_"Me either, you Ramen blackhole," said Lee as he reversed the hold and put Naruto in a headlock. "Why didn't you tell me you finally passed?"_

_"I've been busy," Naruto gagged._

_The genin and the teachers watched as the two friends scuffled around. Shino and Ino were confused, Shikaku was gazing in amusement, while Gai was watching with surprise. He never seen his student this relaxed before. Usually, Lee was always a courteous man with exceptional manners. It was a shock to see him throw that out the window and behave like this._

_After a few moments of horseplaying, the boys released each other. Naruto turned to his teammates. "This is Rock Lee. We were in the same class together at the academy. He's a miracle because he only passes Taijutsu, which at the time was as rocky as his name."_

_"Well, at least I passed," smirked Lee. He then punched a fist in the air. "The power of youth let me prevail!"_

_Team 10 had the same thought. It's a clone of Gai!_

_Gai snapped out of his stupor and slapped a hand on his student's shoulder. "Yes! Youth always wins!"_

_Lee turned his sensei with tears in his eyes. "Gai-sensei!"_

_"Lee!"_

_The two then embraced in a hug of emotion while a ocean-view sunset appeared behind them. How they did that, nobody know. Shikaku rolled his eyes while Team 10 stared in shock._

_"Shino, I'm scared," said Ino as she grabbed his hand._

_"Me, too," whispered Shino. It was the first time he had ever admitted it in his life._

_It was a while before the two broke apart. The tears were gone along with the sunset to the relief of the team. Gai looked around the clearing. "And there's another team member."_

_Naruto turned in his direction and spotted a girl walking towards them. She was tall, slim and wearing blue, shinobi pants and pink, chinese battle-shirt. She was wearing her brown hair in two buns. Immediately, Naruto recognized another old friend._

_"Gai-sensei, Lee, how many times have I told you not to leave us like that?" complained the girl._

_Naruto walked forward, a grin on his face. "Long time no see, Ten."_

_The girl looked at Naruto and a smile blossomed on her face. "Ruto! I can't believe it!" She dashed forward and pounced on him, wrapping him in hug. "It's been a while."_

_Naruto hugged the girl back. Then introduced her to his friends. "This is Tenten. The weapons mistress of Konoha and former classmate."_

_"Nice to meet you," she said and bowed to them. "It's nice to see Naruto with teammates and our symbol around his head."_

_Shino and Ino bowed back. Shino believed the girl to be polite and friendly with the possibility of becoming a good friend. Ino really liked the girl. She looked strong and like a person who could give her tips on how to be a real kunoichi._

_Tenten turned back to Naruto. "So how have you been. Lee and I haven't seen you in awhile and I'm sorry we haven't been by Ichiraku's."_

_Naruto shrugged. "It's okay. I've been so busy lately as well so I know how it is."_

_"How are Teuchi-san and Ayame-san?" asked Lee._

_"Well, Teuchi is still well and kicking. And Ayame…well…," Naruto scratched his head. "is my girlfriend now."_

_Tenten squealed with delight. "I knew you two were going to get together!"_

_"Yosh! Your flames of youth burn bright!" said Lee._

_"Tell me how it happened!" gushed Tenten_

_Embarrassed, Naruto was about to go into the story when a voice called behind Lee and Tenten. "Well, it's seems the failure actually passed. Someone must have screwed up the scores at the academy."_

_Lee and Tenten groaned and turned around. Standing behind them with a scowl on his face was a teen wearing black short, a long-sleeve white jacket and his left side limbs wrapped in bandages. His long hair was tied in a ponytail. But the most noticeable feature was his pupil-less eyes._

_"Hey, isn't that…"Ino started._

_"Neji Hyuuga. Last year's Rookie of the Year," finished Shino._

_Naruto and Neji stared hard each other for a long moment. Each team could feel the hatred between these two that it was almost at a boiling point. Neji had the usual, stoic stare that many Hyuuga have. The look that made everybody feel like they could be seen through. Naruto was glaring daggers right back at Neji. His upper lip was twitching like he was about to snarl._

_"Neji," Naruto growled._

_"Naruto," Neji nodded back. "It's been a while. Fate has brought our paths to cross."_

_"Not long enough. I still see you haven't stopped spewing that destiny crap."_

_Gai and Shikaku, sensing a fight was about to erupt, stepped in between their students._

_"Quit being troublesome, Naruto," said Shikaku as he led Naruto away. "Gai's here as my guest so be nice."_

_"I'll try sensei, but he starts something, I'm going to finish it," Naruto said._

_Gai decided to test Team 10's members with a one-on-one spar. The student would attack Gai with whatever style they felt comfortable. Gai would analyze their attacks, their endurance, as well as their defense, agility and flexibility by only defending. He would then suggest a Taijutsu form that best suit their abilities._

_Shino went first. His Mantis style, impressive as always, was not enough to penetrate Gai's defense. A whirlwind of fists and strikes, Shino attacked nonstop for nearly ten minutes, much to the amazement of his teammates. But soon his body began to slow and he was forced to stop._

_"Most impressive, Shino-san," smiled Gai. "I see the Aburame clan's techniques are just as impressive since the last time I fought with one."_

_Shino bowed to Gai. "Thank you."_

_"You have truly shown exceptional youth and abilities. Your family's Taijutsu is the best option for you so keep fighting strong. I would also suggest trying out another form called Ju Jitsu. You're moves, while still in the style of Kung Fu, have similar traits" Gai then turned to Ino. "I believe the young lady is next."_

_Ino nodded and stepped forward. She started easy, using only a basic attacks against Gai. To Team 9, it looked like a playfight between a dad and his daughter. Naruto and Shino then saw her crouch down and unleashed her fury with a roar. Her form now was a fury of knees, kicks, and elbow strikes. Gai spent most of his time dodging rather than blocking due to the ferocity of her attacks. With each strike, it sounded like a wild animal was fighting._

_But like Shino, her body began to tire. Soon, she was on her hands and knees, gasping for air._

_"That was most exceptional, Ino-san. Most exceptional!"_

_Ino struggled to her feet and bowed to Gai. "Thanks."_

_"That was amazing!" Tenten yelled from the sidelines. Ino blushed at her comment._

_"Now," started Guy. "Based on your attacks and abilities, your style is similar to one I witnessed in the Land of Water called Muy Thai. It uses the joints of the body to strike, since they are the hardest points of the skeleton frame. I believe they have a form in the scroll library. You can find its art there."_

_Ino bowed once more. "Thank you for your help, Gai-sensei." She then moved to the sidelines with Shino._

_Gai turned to Naruto, who nodded and walked towards Gai._

_"Now for my pupil's friend."_

_Naruto bowed to Gai and prepared for his attack. Naruto leapt forward and swung his leg in an arc towards Gai's head. Gai backed away from kick, but Naruto used the momentum to front flip forward and aim a second 360 degree axe kick. Gai brought his hands up and grabbed Naruto's leg. Naruto saw Gai slightly wince to force, but intensified his grip and swung Naruto into the air._

_Naruto, anticipating the move, swung his body around and formed his hands in a cross._

_"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"_

_A clone formed beneath his feet. Naruto used the clone and jumped forward, causing the clone to pop into smoke. Naruto, flying towards is opponent, reared his arm back and punched at Gai's head. Gai, surprised by the clone, barely leaned his head back in time to avoid Naruto's surprise attack. Naruto landed on his hands and flipped forward to his feet._

_Not waiting for Gai to recover, Naruto charged forward to his opponent's knees and let loose a sweeping kick. Gai leapt over the kick, but didn't notice a second Naruto leap over the one on the ground, which popped into smoke. Gai blocked the kick from the new Naruto, but flew back several meters from the force of it. However, it failed to knock him down. Once Gai stopped skidding across the dirt, he glanced up to see Naruto charging him once again. Naruto reared his right fist back. Gai braced for the attack moving his left arm up in a rising block._

_Gai was able to deflect the attack, but immediately noticed Naruto's left fist hurtling straight at his chest at the same time as his right. Gai jumped back, but not before feeling Naruto's fist grazing his stomach._

_Naruto used the block and left punch to spin his right arm in a backlist. Gai blocked strike with both arms. Naruto faced Gai and used his left arm to navigate under his right to deliver a palm strike. Gai raised his knee to block, catching Naruto's hand. Naruto then jerked his right arm in an arc to his side and attempted to connect a knee strike to Gai's open right side. Once again, Gai blocked._

_Blow by blow, Naruto tried every trick he knew to try and gain an edge over his opponent. Whenever he thought a foot or fist would connect, Gai would be quicker and block his attack. Naruto lost all track of time. He just kept fighting, barely tiring._

_It wasn't until Gai raised his hand to stop the fight did Naruto finally slow down. His chest heaved only the slightest._

_Naruto noticed his team staring at him. Ino's eyes were wide and her mouth agape. Shino's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hair. Shikaku was smiling, but with a hint of sadness._

_They weren't the only ones. Tenten kept blinking at Naruto, as if to shake any illusions from her mind. Lee smiled and gave Naruto a thumbs up sign. Neji, however, remain to same. The slightest hint of a scowl on his face._

_"Well done, Naruto-san! I've never seen a genin who had just left the academy, with no family clan, show as much talent as you have!" exclaimed Gai._

_"But…I just did what was natural," said Naruto. "It was more like instinct."_

_"Yes, but you showed attributes for many different kinds of forms," said Gai. "In fact, any form you choose will serve you well. And most importantly, you lasted over fifteen minutes in our spar. You have an extraordinary amount of stamina and abilities."_

_Naruto smiled, proud that another teacher was commenting him on his abilities. But on the inside, he felt his gut clench with guilt. He had a pretty good idea why he had so much stamina and energy. And it wasn't due to hard work._

_Neji scoffed. "The failure doesn't know how to quit."_

_"What was that?" Naruto growled. He made a move towards Neji, but was grabbed by Tenten and Lee._

_"Naruto, please stop," Tenten whispered._

_"Don't let him damper your flames of youth, my friend," added Lee helpfully._

_"Neji, I'm going to-wait, dampen my what?" asked Naruto._

_Neji shook his head and turned away. "Sensei, if my presence is no longer required, I will take my leave."_

_Once he made it clear he was going whether Gai approved or not, Tenten and Lee let go of Naruto._

_"One day, I'm going to show him you don't need to be a genius to be a great ninja," Naruto fumed._

_"That's the spirit!" yelled Gai and clapped Naruto on the shoulder. "A good ninja is made by hard work and never letting his youthfulness extinguish!"_

_Lee became misty-eyed. "Gai-sensei!"_

_"Lee!" And once, a round of hugging occurred, complete with sunset._

_Naruto groaned and turned to Tenten. "How do you put up with them?"_

_Tenten sighed. "Practice."_

_"Alright then!" Shikaku said suddenly. Mainly to continue with training, but also to stop the abomination behind him. "Let's continue. Miss Tenten, if you would please give us your demonstration on weapons."_

* * *

Naruto smiled at the memory of his friend in her element. Tenten unrolled a long scroll on the ground. With a wave of her hand, a selection of weapons appeared on the paper. Katanas, sai, nunchakus, bo staffs, kamas, battle axes, axe knives, chains, and even war hammers. She gave a demonstration with each weapon. She gave the basic rundown of how weapons need to feel comfortable in their hands, including the talk of how the weapon needs to be more than a tool, but an extension of their bodies. Each weapon she used was expertly demonstrated.

Shino went first. He walked back and forth along the scroll, carefully observing each weapon. It was a few moments later when he bent down and picked up a kama: a short baton made of wood with a crescent blade made of steel. He tested the balance of each one and even took a few practice swings with them. Then spun them around his hand, though not as good as Tenten.

He nodded and placed them back on the scroll. A few days later, he told them he got his own pair.

Ino went next. She tried several weapons instead of one. But she mostly stuck to sword weapons since she was familiar with sword techniques thanks to Hayate's training. She went through a katana, a wakazi, and even a double-edge tai chi sword. But she frowned at each test. Each sword felt different, unbalanced.

At least until the last one she tried. It was a scimitar. Ino toke a few practice swings, even trying a kata with it. She smiled and placed the sword back onto the paper. She knew what she was going to ask her parents for her birthday coming up.

Naruto went last. He didn't bother looking for specific one. He tried every weapon on the scroll Tenten gave him. He whacked his head with the bo, almost hit himself in the crotch with the nunchaku, shaved off pieces of his hair with the swords, and even tied himself up with the chain when he tried spinning it. He grumbled to himself as he untangled the chain. He looked at Tenten and shook his head. She frowned and resealed her weapons. After a few reassurances from Team 9, they left. But the next day, Tenten and Lee were at Ichiraku's.

He was still embarrassed that he couldn't find a suitable weapon. But his friends kept trying to cheer him up.

"Our session with Squad 9 had good points as well, Naruto," said Shino. "The time we spent with them was not all awful."

"Maybe, but that bastard had to ruin it," said Naruto. He punched a fist into his other hand, causing Tora to hiss angrily. "One day, I'm going to show him the unbreakable will of a failure."

"I'm sure you will, my friend."

* * *

With that, Team 10 returned to the Hokage Tower

"Oh, my precious, little Tora! I'm so glad they found!" screamed the cat's owner as she pressed it to her chest. The cat seemed to be crying, but was also glaring daggers at Team 10. It's eyes said it wished them a horrible, slow death.

"Same to you, kitty," Ino mumbled. Naruto snickered while Shikaku slightly pushed her shoulder

Team 10 watched as the customer paid a chunin who sat a table with the Hokage and Iruka. Iruka watched the master and pet walk away with a small look of pity in his eyes. The Hokage watched with a smirk. He turned to Team 10 and gave them a smile.

"Well done you three. I'm amazed by the progress you have shown this past month. Each mission you are assigned has been completed with the highest regards of your employees and the quickest time."

The three genin and jonin bowed to their leader. "Thank you, Hokage," said Shikaku. "It's been a troublesome month, but I couldn't be any more proud of my students."

The Hokage and Iruka nodded. Iruka then picked up the clipboard from his desk. "If you want, we still have a few missions available. We have a senior who needs her groceries picked up, another garden that needs to be weeded…"

As Iruka continued on, Sarutobi watched Team 10. Shikaku was looking through a grocery list Yoshino gave him to handle earlier, not really paying attention. Naruto had his arms crossed, tapping his foot and was staring at the ceiling. Ino was tapping her foot as well while looking at her nails. Shino stood at attention, but his shoulders were slightly slouched.

"You know what, Iruka?" said the Sandaime. "I think their ready for something bigger."

Everyone in the room snapped their heads up. Iruka stared in disbelief. "Something bigger?" he asked.

"Yes," said Sarutobi. He folded his hand on the desk in front of him. "Shikaku, tell me, you think you're team is ready for a C-Rank mission?"

Before Shikaku could answer, Naruto jumped in. "You bet we are! I'm ready to test my skills!"

Ino pumped her fist. "Oh, yeah!"

Shino was a little bit more subtle but couldn't hid the slight eagerness in his voice. "Yes, I believe we are ready."

The Hokage grinned at Shikaku, who just groaned and slapped a hand over his face in annoyance.

"What a drag," he muttered. "Yes, I believe they are now suited for a higher mission. They have shown exceptional skills and are well prepared for something harder."

"Excellent," smiled the Hokage. He pulled a list with higher missions from his files and began to scroll down. He smiled when he found one. "Ah, this one will be perfect. A mission to the Hidden Village of Waterfalls."

"Waterfalls?" frowned Naruto.

"Yes, one of our smaller, allied nations. Tomorrow is the beginning of their festival celebrating the village's coronation. Their short on shinobi to help guard their borders so they have asked us to send some."

"But I thought the entrance to their village was a secret location," said Shikaku. "Why would they need help guarding their borders if their is only one entrance?"

"They had a recent outbreak of a very intense virus, leaving most of shinobi inactive. All infected people have been transported out of the village for the safety of its civilians. They have currently 12 jonin who guarding their front entrance with another 50 chunin guarding the village."

"How will our squad be enough to guard an entire village?" asked Shino.

"Naruto," said Shikaku and Sarutobi.

Naruto blinked in confusion. "Me?"

Sarutobi nodded. "Your shadow clone technique is the key to this mission. Shikaku explained to me recently of the rise in your taijutsu skills. He also told me how he has been giving you training sessions in making your clones stronger than they were when you first learned the technique." Sarutobi leaned his chin on his hands. "I'm not going to lie to you kids. This mission, even though C-rank, has the potential to be dangerous. And a lot of his going to fall onto Naruto's shoulders."

Naruto nodded, understanding the consequences. But Ino interrupted. "Why is it dangerous?"

Sarutobi sighed. "Every village has its secrets. And in the Hidden Waterfall, there is a rumor of a very powerful weapon hidden within the village."

"A weapon? What kind?" Ino asked eagerly.

"It's not a physical weapon, but more of a supplement. A chakra booster, similar to soldier pills. However, after that, it's power is unknown."

Ino sighed, as did Naruto. After the weapons session with Tenten, the two have been really interested in weaponry.

Sarutobi clapped his hands, snapping the genin out of their stupor. "So, do you want the mission. I won't hold it against you if you decline."

There was a moment of silence while each child thought about it. Naruto really wanted to test his skills in a real combat situation if it came to be, not just trying any more training situations. Ino was just the same. She had grown in exceptional leaps and was ready to show everyone her strength. Shino was eager to explore what was beyond the village walls. Living his life in his clan's compound, he wanted know what was in the unknown.

But all three agreed on one thing. This mission would definitely make them stronger. And as one, the nodded their agreement.

"Excellent. I'm sorry to say that the festival will be a week long, so you will be gone at the most two weeks. It will take you a day and a half to reach the village. Pack for that long for the trip. Lodging has been provided for you in a few of their cottages. Take any equipment you want to, but they have an excellent selection of weapons you can purchase there."

"But how will we find the village if the entrance is hidden?" asked Shino.

"There will be a contact near the village entrance that will guide you. You'll meet with him on the final leg of your journey and help you. Any other queuestions?"

Team 10 shook their heads. "Good. You will leave tomorrow morning."

* * *

"Wow, your first C-rank!" exclaimed Choji. He then dug back into ramen bowl.

It was later in the evening. Team 10 was eating with Teams 8 and 9 at Ichiraku's. Choji, Hinata, Lee and Naruto were eating; Shikamaru, Tenten, Shino and Ino were drinking tea; Teuchi and Ayame were watching the kids as Shino explained to everyone his team's mission. Teuchi was gazing at them with interest while Ayame was silent.

"This is a real breakthrough for you kids," said Teuchi as he boiled a new batch of noodles. "You're really coming along as ninjas."

"I'm surprised the Hokage assigned a mission like this," added Tenten. "Usually it will be at least two to three months before he assigns a C-Rank mission to a genin team as green as you guys."

"Do you think we have what it takes?" asked Ino.

Tenten looked at her and smiled. "Even though you guys are green, you proved to us and Gai-sensei the other day that you're well beyond capable of handling this mission."

"Yosh!" yelled Lee with his chopsticks in the air. "Team 10 has proven that their youth has no bounds!""

Shikamaru winced at Lee's loud voice. He picked his ear canal with his pinky. "Doesn't this guy have a volume control?"

"Sadly no," sighed Tenten.

"What do you think Hinata?" asked Teuchi.

"I..I th-think they're ready," smiled Hinata as she pressed her hands together. "Naruto and his friends of always shown wondrous talent."

"Thanks, Hinata," smiled Naruto. "What do you think….Ayame?"

He turned to see his girlfriend walking out of the curtain and into the streets. He leapt over the counter, much to the protest of his friends, and followed her. When Naruto was behind her, he reached for her arm. She jerked away immediately. Ayame quickened her pace, but Naruto followed right behind her.

She didn't stop until she reached the park. It was the one the two always played at as kids. Ayame walked to the nearest bench, away from the children's playground, and sat down forcefully. She raised her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. It was moments later she was crying.

Naruto kept his distance for a few minutes, but he couldn't stand to see her cry. He sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. This time she didn't pull away.

"Ayame, you knew this day was going to happen," Naruto whispered.

"It doesn't make me feel any better," she sobbed back. "I thought I could handle the thought of you doing your duty, but its so hard."

"I know, Ayame," said Naruto and held her tighter. Ayame let go of her knees and wrapped her arms around Naruto.

"I just don't know what I would do if I lost you," sobbed Ayame.

"I am not leaving you," Naruto said firmly. He tilted Ayame's chin up and looked into her eyes. "Don't listen to any crap about how inexperienced genins are killed in the field of battle. I will come back. There isn't a force in this land that will keep from coming back to you."

He saw a small ray of hope in her eyes. "You mean it?"

Naruto smiled. "It's the promise of a lifetime. And I never go back on my word."

Ayame returned his smile. When he made a promise like that, she knew he would keep it.

* * *

Sarutobi watched the couple through his viewing orb. His heart tugged at the pain the two were feeling, but he couldn't help but feel a little hope at Naruto's promise. If anyone could keep his word, no matter what the cost, it would be Naruto.

Ever since he was a baby, Sarutobi knew Naruto was special. Not because he was born from the powerful combination of the Uzumaki and Namikazee clans. Nor was it the Kyubi was sealed into his navel by the power of both his parents.

He felt it because his beloved Biwako told him. His beloved wife was never wrong

Sarutobi sighed and pulled a pendant he kept with him since he first knew he was in love with Biwako nearly forty years ago. The two had met when her family moved to the Hidden Leaf after her father died. She had come in hopes of becoming a doctor. His sensei, the Second Hokage, actually encouraged him to show her around the village. Within the the first hour, he knew he was in love.

The pendant was his gift to her. She had acted like Ayame is now, all worried and scared. He gave her the pendant as a promise that he would return and as a sign he was still alive no matter what part of the nation he was in. She kept it with her every second of their lives. During their marriage, his inauguration as Hokage, and his retirement.

But then, his beloved died. One of the first victims of the Kyubi attack. He found her body amidst the rubble near the spot the Kyubi was first spotted.

When he found Naruto, he swore he would try his hardest to see that the boy had a normal life. But no matter what he did, no matter what laws he placed, the villagers could not erase what they had seen or forget the ones they had lost. Every time Naruto was looked at, the villagers would only see the shadow of the Kyubi.

Sarutobi looked at the pendant one more time. Then he pulled out another one from inside his robes. There was one more thing he could do to make Naruto's life easier.

* * *

The sun was barely up the next day as Naruto made his way to the village gate. He covered a yawn and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. But despite his drowsiness, his body was tingly with anticipation of his mission. His pack was on around his shoulders. It was filled with his tent, medical supplies, rations, water, scrolls, ninja wire, spare kunai and shuriken, ramen dough, and his sleeping bag. His shuriken and kunai holder was strapped to his thigh while two ramen pouches were belted to his waist.

Once he arrived at the gate, he immediately saw Shino and Ino waiting for him. Shino had his hands in his pocket and was staring beyond the gate, into the forest. Ino was leaning against the wall and studying a rolled out scroll.

"Whatcha got there, Ino?" asked Naruto.

"It's a map of the Elemental Nations," said Ino, showing Naruto. "I wanted to know how far the Hidden Waterfall was."

"Ok, that's a good point. But what's that?" Naruto pointed to the strap covering Ino's front.

"Oh." Ino reached behind her back and pulled it back. It was ninjato, one usually carried by ANBU. "This was my father's. He used when he served in the Black Ops."

"That was nice of him," said Shino.

"Yeah, but I was hoping to get a scimitar," said Ino as she sheathed her sword. "My parents said my birthday would be a good time for me to mature enough to handle one."

"What about you, Shino? Did you bring your kamas?" asked Naruto.

Shino patted his sleeves. "I have them here. This way, I'll always be ready."

Naruto nodded. But then he noticed something peculiar. "What a minute. Where are you packs?"

Shino and Ino each pulled a small scroll from their weapons pouch. "In here," they both said.

Naruto slapped a hand over his face, cursing his stupidity. He pulled off his pack, reached inside and pulled out a scroll and brush. He then inked the brush and began to furiously scribble on the unfurled scroll. Finally, he focused his chakra into ink while placing his pack in the middle of the kanji. A moment later and a puff of smoke, his pack was now sealed into the scroll.

Shino and Ino watched with fascination at his work. Naruto did his sealing in one move while the two went through at least two other scrolls with incorrect markings. It was like a work of art.

"Impressive," said a voice behind Naruto. He turned to see Shikaku with a grin on his face. "You've taken to sealing like it was second nature."

Naruto grinned and scratched his hair in embarrassment. "I only wish I knew why. Although, I shouldn't complain."

Shikaku chuckled. "Are you guys ready to go?"

Ino nodded and pumped her fist into the air. "Let's do it!"

"Ready to go, Shikaku-sensei," stated Shino.

"Believe it!" Naruto yelled.

The team walked out of village walls and leapt into the trees.

* * *

Ayame stirred from her sleep as the sun's rays poked through her window. She groaned and shook her hair from her eyes as she sat up. Her shoulders popped when she stretched her arms to the ceiling.

The sounds of Teuchi downstairs let her know he was beginning to cook breakfast. She sighed and brushed her hair from her eyes. She paused when she felt something hard against her forehead. When she pulled back, she found a pendant wrapped her fingers. She unwrapped and brought it in the sunlight.

It was a pure, white pendant shaped like a small flame. There were several black outlines that made it look like it was billowing in the wind. In the center of it was a small emerald. The pendant was hooked together with a silver chain.

She was wondering how this came to her when she spotted a note beside her bed table. She recognized Naruto's scribble

_Ayame, I found this on my doorstep last night. The sender was anonymous, but a friend. The note with it said it should belong to two people who love each other with all their hearts. All you need to do is put it on and say the one you love. The jewel in the middle will light and be connected to my life force. If anything should happen to me, the jewel will fade._

_But I will not let that happen. Let the jewel let you know that I will return._

_With all my love,_

_Naruto._

Ayame had a single tear drop from her eye as she finished. She then put the chain over head. Grasping the pendant in her hands, she whispered into the metal.

"Naruto."

The pendant immediately felt warm and the emerald glowed in her hands. It felt Naruto's heartbeat was right there with her.

Ayame smiled and kissed the pendant.

* * *

Kilometers away, Team 10 was now walking to help conserve their chakra after leaping the entire morning. Even with the progress they were making, it wouldn't be until noon tomorrow before they reach their destination.

Naruto felt his chest get warm. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out the second pendant that came with the first. Unlike Ayame's, it was black with white outlines, but had the same emerald in the center. He had already said Ayame's name earlier and was glowing. The pendant warming just now signaled that Ayame found her pendant and Naruto's life force was now in Ayame's pendant.

Naruto smiled and put the pendant back into his shirt.

* * *

Sorry if the pendant thing is a little too cheesy. I just thought it was a nice touch. Hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter.


	10. Entries and Fights

Here's the newest Chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it.

* * *

Team 10 stopped for the night near the border the two lands of Fire and Waterfall met. The landscape still remained the same: Lush with trees and rivers with just enough sunlight poking through the trees to give several wildflowers room to grow. The sun itself was now halfway set. It's fading orange bathed the campsite in a beautiful glow.

"Is this a good spot, sensei? Cause I would really hate to leave." asked Ino.

Shikaku, unpacking his pack, shook his head. "We are on good terms with the Waterfall ninja so we don't have to worry about any attacks by them. We just need to watch out for bandits."

Naruto looked up fire he just made. "Are we going to sleep in shifts tonight?"

"Better than safe than sorry," Shikaku muttered. "But just to make sure, Naruto, could you make a couple of clones and scout the surrounding area?"

Naruto nodded and walked away to give himself some room. Shino began setting up some cooking utensils while Ino unpacked the food.

"So who gets to cook tonight?" asked Ino.

"Let me," answered Naruto as he rejoined his team. The others could see five clones split up and take off into the forest. "The chef is in the house."

"It's not ramen, is it?" Shikaku said behind them.

Naruto's head dropped. "No, sensei. Not on a mission like this one."

Shikaku brushed his pants as he sat up. "Sorry, Naruto. But ramen doesn't suit my stomach when I'm worrying about a mission."

"Is something wrong, Sensei?" asked Ino. "Are you regretting sending us on this mission?"

"No, but I'm worried about the disease that struck the Waterfall this past week. It seems strange that many shinobi would be ill before the biggest festival of the year for the village."

"Meaning the virus was targeting the chakra in their bodies," said Shino. "That's why so few civilians were sick."

"Correct," said Shikaku. "Chakra-eating viruses are rare, but the ones that exist are usually developed as a bio-weapon or resulting from a bloodline."

Naruto frowned. "Are you thinking someone sabotaged the Waterfall's force for a invasion?"

"It's a possibility."

"But how if the entrance to the village is a secret only to the Waterfall ninja?" asked Ino.

Shino answered for her. "The invasion force could have help from the inside."

"A traitor," Naruto growled.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," said Shikaku. "This could all just be a coincidence. Nevertheless, don't let your guard down. Remember, expect the unexpected."

The genin nodded. Everyone then watched the fire and Naruto as he stirred the soup Ino brought.

* * *

"Area's clear," Naruto announced later after dinner. The genin were washing their dishes in a nearby creek while Shikaku watched the surrounding dark forest.

Ino looked around, confused. "But your clones haven't come back. How do you know that?"

Naruto smiled at her. "When my clones are dispelled, all of the memories they gain when they are created are sent to me. It's one of the tricks Shikaku taught me in our one-on-one sessions."

"That's one of the reasons we were selected for this mission," Shikaku said behind them. "With Naruto's ability to summon a large number of shadow clones, we can guard the surrounding village with a small army."

Ino snapped her fingers. "So in case of an invasion, a shadow clone can dispel itself and Naruto would immediately know no matter how far away he is."

"How many shadow clones can you make?" asked Shino.

"I can make at least 100 without feeling any chakra exhaustion. 300 and I'll have a slight draining sensation. In case of an emergency, I can boost it up to 1000, but then I would begin to feel exhausted," explained Naruto.

"How strong are your clones?" added Ino.

"Most clones dispel whenever the slightest injury is inflicted on them," explained Shikaku. "Shadow clones are the strongest of clone jutsus, but it all depends on how strong the caster is. Each clone has the 3/4 of original's strength and only 1/8 of his endurance."

Naruto sighed. "They can put up a fight, but one good, solid kick will get rid off them."

"It will be enough," assured Shikaku. "The main point for the shadow clones to hold off the enemy until the main calvary arrive."

"Just how much chakra do you have?" asked an awed Ino.

Naruto stiffened at her question. He picked up his utensils and walked back to camp. "I have enough."

Team 10 watched him disappear into the darkness. Ino frowned at his departure while Shino remained the same.

"Did I say something wrong?" Ino asked.

Shikaku shook his head. "No, Ino. But the two of you should know Naruto has endured a lot to become the ninja he is today. He's not from a prestigious clan like you two are. He's had to do everything on his own. That includes working nonstop from his first day at the ninja academy."

"Is that why he has so much chakra?" asked Ino.

_It's one reason, _thought Shikaku.

* * *

It was about three hours after the sun had set before the team took their shifts. Shikaku was reading a scroll with the mission details while three more about the village's history laid beside him. It wasn't his first time he had traveled to the Waterfall village. But the last time was nearly ten years ago and was with the original Team 10. Three chunin blindfolded Chouza, Inoichi, and himself and led them into the village. He enjoyed his time there. The Waterfall and the Leaf were always one good terms, ever since the formation of their villages.

Ever since the Shodaime, the First Hokage, gave them a gift. A gift Shikaku finally met ten years ago.

Shikaku looked up from his reading to see what his students were doing. What he saw made him smile. Each student was holding out their hands, one covering the other. All three of had a look of extreme concentration on their faces, which were perspired and glowing in the fire light.

He was proud that his students were continuing their elemental training he showed them in their second week as a team.

* * *

_"Elemental manipulation training is one of the most intense training sessions you can go through as a shinobi. The difficulty of mastering this style is one normally taken when you reach a higher level, like jonin."_

_Team 10 was back on training field five on their spot next to the creek. Each one of the genin was eager to begin to learn their elemental style of jutsus ever since they learned their element._

_"But like I said before, I want you guys trained in every field that makes a shinobi. Any angle, any trick there is to learn, I want us fully prepared to take on any obstacles that may present itself."_

_"So who will be our instructors this week?" asked Shino._

_On cue, a shinobi appeared before them in a sweep of wind. He was a tall man dressed in the basic jonin-style attire. His dark hair was spiked around his headband and had sideburns that ran into a short beard. As soon as he appeared, the genin started coughing as he puffed out a cloud of smoke from his cigarette._

_"Sorry about that kids," said the man, although he looked kind of smug._

_"Asuma, glad you could make it," said Shikaku. He then turned to Naruto. "Asuma is going to be your teacher. He's the only wind-type user in the village."_

_"Why is that," Naruto wheezed while waved the smoke from his face._

_"Believe it or not, wind-type users are a rare breed in the world," answered Asuma. "But they can surprise you about how powerful they are."_

_"What about our teachers?" asked Ino._

_On cue, another jonin popped in a cloud of smoke. He as well was wearing the jonin style outfit, but had what looked like a turtle neck pulled up all the way to his nose. His hiaiti was tied over his forehead, but was lowered on one side to cover his left eye. His silver hair was spiked and slightly combed to the right._

_"Sorry I'm late everyone," the man said sheepishly. "I was helping a girl get her cat down a tree and lost track of time."_

_"Actually Kakashi, you're right on time," smirked Shikaku._

_Kakashi looked around, confused. "I thought you said the meeting was at nine?"_

_"What exactly do you take me for, Kakashi? I knew you were to be late so I told you to meet us at an earlier time. This way we didn't have to wait for your sorry ass to show up."_

_Kakashi looked insulted while Asuma snickered behind him. Team 10 didn't know what the hell to think. Maybe becoming jonin wasn't a good idea if it meant becoming one of them._

_"Um….can we get started," asked Naruto._

_"Sure," said Shikaku. Asuma sat down beside the kids while Kakashi pulled out a book and began reading._

_"As you know, chakra is made up of the spiritual and physical energy within our bodies. By combining the two energies and using the appropriate hand signs, shinobi can create extremely powerful attack called a jutsu. These attacks can range from being elemental, transformations, increasing physical attributes and even special arts, like mind scans, kikaichu, and ramen," explained Shikaku as he smiled at his students._

_"But no matter the purpose its used for, chakra will have at least one relation to the five elements: fire, water, earth, lightning and wind. Your chakra, when properly used, will have characteristics used similar to this energy and can be used to produce your element._

_"And that's what me and Kakashi are here for," said Asuma as he stood up. He turned to Naruto. "I'm going to be your teacher today, Naruto. I happen to be the only allied wind-user from here to the land of wind. And you won't find a teacher better than me!"_

_Naruto raised an eyebrow, but stood up and walked into the clearing. "All right Asuma-sensei, where do we begin?"_

_Asuma stood across from Naruto, taking a few puffs with his cigarette. "Because it's rarity, wind jutsus are actually the most dangerous element to learn. Many think that all you need to do his huff and puff and blow. So it's really important that you understand this: Wind styles are primarily used for cutting. With the proper training, a wind jutsu can cut through trees, rock, and even steel. Improperly, even the slightest mistake, will cause the wind to backdraft onto yourself."_

_"How can wind be dangerous?" asked a skeptic Naruto._

_Asuma's cheery demeanor turned serious. "Don't underestimate the power of wind. If you think all you will get from bad wind jutsu is a simple breeze, think again. One of my opponents thought he could be clever and copy my jutsu just by watching me. Next thing you know, he's screaming his brains out because the backdraft sliced his arms right off." The jonin rolled up his sleeves. On each arm were several deep, crisscrossing scars._

_Naruto paled and visibly gulped. He was now beginning to have his doubts about wind._

_Asuma saw this and gave the boy a small smile. "That happened because he wasn't a wind user, Naruto. I got these scars because I was careless and naive. I wanted to be stronger quicker. These are the prices for my mistakes."_

_Naruto swallowed. "So how do I not do that?"_

_"By taking each step slowly," explained Asuma. "Now here is the key to using wind chakra. When you are preparing your jutsu and gathering you're chakra, you need make your chakra as thin as you can."_

_"You mean using less chakra," asked Naruto._

_"No, I mean you need to make it sharp. Try to imagine your chakra has split into two spinning, opposing forces. Then, try to push those opposing forces together so that the chakra is grinding together. Almost like a pair of scissors."_

_Asuma then turned and walked towards a tree that was near the one everyone else was sitting under. He reached behind into his rear pouch and pulled out two, dark trench knives onto his knuckles._

_**"Wind Style: Criss-Cross Jutsu!"** He slashed the tree with absolute precision and power. Naruto barely saw the speed of the strikes. He did se that the knives seemed to be glowing with a white energy that extended the blades another six inches. In seconds, the small oak was reduced to splinters. Then, the tree slowly toppled over with a loud crash._

_Asuma didn't stop there. He sheathed his knives and pointed his body towards another group of trees across the creek. His hands formed another series of rapid signs. He also took a deep breath._

_**"Wind Style: Air Bullet!"** He released his breath with the force of a hurricane wind. The kids could see the faint outline of a ball of energy heading towards the nearest tree. The jutsu passed cleanly through the first tree, where it exploded with extreme force. The tree flew through the air and crashed to the ground. During that time, several trees around the first one were uprooted from the force. The leaves were also blown off from all of the branches._

_Asuma turned back to Naruto with a smirk while leaves fluttered around them. "See? Wind is always underestimated."_

_Naruto grinned in response. Any fears or doubts about the power of wind were know blown away._

_"So what's the first step into using wind," he asked._

_Asuma snatched a falling leaf and handed to Naruto. "I would like for you cut a leaf using only your chakra. Remember, use your chakra to grind wind into a thin blade."_

_Naruto smiled and bowed. "Thank you, Asuma-sensei."_

_"Your welcome, Naruto," smiled Asuma. "Just remember to pass on the knowledge to the next generation."_

_Asuma then turned Shikaku. "If that is all?"_

_Shikaku nodded. "You may go. Thanks for all of your help."_

_Asuma shushined away. Shikaku and the kids turned to Kakashi, who was still reading his book. Ino finally caught a glimpse to the cover and scowled._

_"You read that perverted trash? In front of kids, too?" she asked menacingly._

_"Kakashi, you're up!" growled Shikaku._

_"Mm? You say something Shi-?"_

_"NO! No, don't you dare say that?"_

_Kakashi sighed and closed his book. He turned to Ino and Shino. "I'm here to show you two fire and lightning jutsus. Let's start with fire," he gestured to Ino._

_Ino stood and brushed the grass off her skirt. She followed Kakashi into the clearing._

_Kakashi sighed and began his lecture. "Fire-style jutsus are some the easiest types to manage because it's one that doesn't require fire element chakra to use. It maybe easier, but anyone who has chakra can use fire-type jutsus as long as they know how to properly breath."_

_"Is that the key? Breathing?" asked Ino._

_"And how to properly use your chakra. Like my colleague previously explained about wind, there is a key way to use your chakra. When you move your hands in the proper signs, you need to take a deep breath through your mouth. Breathing through your mouth will bring more oxygen into your lungs so it can ignite when you release it. You'll be able to control the fire more easily."_

_"Why do I need to breath in through my mouth?"_

_Kakashi sighed once more. "It's too troublesome to explain."_

_Ino's eyes when white with rage while Shikaku and Naruto scowled. Naruto noticed Shino stiffen beside him with annoyance._

_"Now, to properly use your chakra, you simply need to imagine you chakra warming up to the point of igniting it. Feel your chakra getting hot, like a simple campfire."_

_"That's it?" asked Ino. "No warnings about how dangerous it is or how careful I have to be when using this chakra?"_

_Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Fine. Be sure to blow the air as hard as you can when use the jutsu or you;re lungs will burn up. Also, jutsu will blow right back into your face if you don't blow hard enough."_

_Team 10 saw Ino pale at Kakashi's blunt answer. Naruto felt a little rage well up in him at the small lecture._

_Kakashi didn't and pulled a small match from his pocket. "Like Naruto's leaf, this is a first step procedure. Use your chakra to make the match ignite. This is a great way to bring you fire chakra to full force."_

_He tossed it to Ino, who fumbled to catch it. Then Kakashi walked passed her towards Shino._

_"Now for lightning. Lightning can be just as dangerous as wind because the source of lighting must come from within you body. The body can generate a generous amount of electricity even without using chakra, so it can be a powerful but dangerous jutsu."_

_Shino nodded, but Naruto saw the slight confused expression on his eyebrows. Kakashi, however, didn't notice._

_"Now, for lightning, all you need to do his use the proper hand signs and vibrate your chakra pathways. It's as simple as that. The vibration in you body will create a generous amount of friction to give an electrical charge."_

_Shino didn't say anything or even give any kind of notion that he understood. Kakashi didn't seem to care and pulled another object from his pouch. It was a small lightbulb that he tossed to Shino._

_"This will be a great first step for you. Use your chakra to make the bulb light-up."_

_Shino studied the bulb and nodded his thanks to Kakashi. But Team 10 noticed his forehead wrinkled with confusion._

_"Well, my work here is done. See ya!" he smiled and disappeared in a gust of wind._

_Shikaku growled. "The stubborn, lazy bastard. I was hoping he would be a little bit more thorough."_

_"It's ok, sensei," said a depressed Ino._

_"No, it's not. He just threw you the basics without go more in-depth. I swear, he's the most laid-back, self-absorbed son of a-"_

_"Sensei, calm down!" yelled Naruto. "I'm sure we can figure this out on our own."_

_Shikaku took a deep breath and smiled at Ino and Shino. "Actually, I know a little bit about your jutsus to help you two out. One should always be prepared and study every aspect that's available to you."_

_The teacher turned to Ino. "What Kakashi failed to explain was that breathing techniques are the keys to water and fire jutsus. The oxygen you breath needs to go into your lungs from the mouth so it can ignite. But it also helps you exhale from your diaphragm a lot quicker for a fire jutsu. This way, it won't backfire on you and burn extensively. Water-style air needs to be breathed in through the nose. For water jutsus to work, you need to be near a source of water and breath in the moisture it gives off into your lungs into your nose."_

_Ino nodded in agreement._

_"And Kakashi needed to give you more details on how to warm your chakra. There's more to using fire than just imagining your chakra warming up like a campfire. It needs to be more critical than that."_

_"What do you mean sensei?" asked Ino._

_"Let me ask you this. How is heat generated?"_

_It was Shino who answered. "Molecules in the air are accelerated at high speeds, which causes heat."_

_"Exactly. When you are preparing to use your chakra for a fire jutsu, imagine your chakra is acceleration inside your pathways. And that the acceleration is causing heat which will ignite the oxygen you stored in you lungs."_

_A look of recognition appeared on Ino's face. "I get it now. The faster my chakra is, the more heat I'll cause."_

_Shikaku smiled and nodded at his student. He then turned to Shino. "Now for you, I'll will agree with Kakashi on one thing. Lightning is just as dangerous as wind, if not more. Since the electricity is generated from your body, you will have a higher risk of electrocuting yourself from the inside. Every person has enough watts inside each of them to kill themselves. So you need to ease yourself into using lightning so you can build you body up as a safe, electrical conductor. But I'm worried about your insects."_

_Shino nodded. "My hive will be able to become immune to my jutsus with time. However, it may take a while there's the possibility I may lose a number of my insects."_

_"Just take your time, Shino," smiled Ino. "We'll have plenty of it."_

_Shino nodded in agreement, while Shikaku smiled._

_"Now, Kakashi should have been more specific on how to make your lightning chakra. He was right on making your chakra vibrate and use it as a conductor, but a good way would have been explaining how."_

_"How do I make my chakra vibrate?" asked Shino._

_"Try to imagine your chakra as a string. Most likely a string on a sitar or a violin. When the string is plucked, the vibration from the string will make a sound. When the string inside your chakra pathways is plucked, it will cause the negative and positive ions in your body to be disrupted. They will then quickly merge together once more and create a strong electric current. The current will flow throughout your chakra pathway and through your muscles to the outside of your body. Understand?"_

_Shino nodded, understanding what he needed to do to begin his training._

_"Any questions? Clear as mud?" asked Shikaku._

_Everyone nodded their heads._

* * *

Shikaku kept watching his students with pride. He noticed that any free chance they got, he would see them always training to their fullest extents. He never even had to tell them what they should do in their free time or what exercises they should do next.

The genins then took a deep breath as one and removed their top hand, revealing their elemental training tools.

Shino's light bulb had the faintest glow from the copper coil inside. Ino's match had small, black burn mark on the red area. Naruto's leaf had a slight nick on one side. Despite their weariness, each one had a small smile on their faces.

Shikaku put away his scroll and stood. "That's enough, kids. I think you've wearied yourselves out enough tonight. It's time for bed."

"Since we agreed to sleep in shifts, who will take the first one tonight, sensei?" asked Shino.

"I will," said Naruto immediately.

"Are you sure?" asked Shikaku. "I wouldn't mind taking the first half while you three divide up the last."

"We all need our rest, sensei. But I'm still full of energy despite my training. And since this is our first C-mission, I consider it an honor to be first on watch."

Ino smirked. "Don't get too excited. It's not like were fighting rogue shinobi."

Naruto chuckled. "I can't help. We're actually outside the village gates, inside dangero-well, semi-dangersous territory and are about to visit an allied village. This is something we all should remember."

"Maybe, my friend," Shino said. "But we can't be too relaxed."

"I know. Expect the unexpected. I would still like to be first on watch tonight."

Shikaku nodded. "Ok, then. Naruto will be on the first watch tonight. Then Shino, myself, and Ino will finish up the early morning hours. Does that sound suitable for everyone?"

Everyone nodded and got ready. Ino and Shino each got into a separate single-person tent while Shikaku got into a sleeping bag between the tents. Naruto summoned a few clones and ordered them to stand guard outside of the camp. He then settled down by the dying fire and pulled out small, book from his jacket. The title 'Kushina Uzumaki' was written on the cover.

Naruto turned the bookmarked he placed in from his last reading. So far, he found out his mother came from a small country called the Land of Eddys, or Whirpools. He read that her father, Kazuma Uzumaki, was one of the village's small group of leaders, but was assassinated by an unknown village when she was 8. Her mother, Vahara Uzumaki, was leader of the village's Secret Ops and lieutenant of the 2nd division of the alliance of the Leaf, Eddy and Waterfall villages during the Third Ninja war.

Kushina was an only child, but had dozens of cousins in village. It was a small village, but everyone was family. But for some reason, she seemed to see less and less of them each month. She thought everyone was just going away for a trip. As she got older, she realized her older family and friends were being killed. In fact, she was beginning to notice less and less villagers every week.

Naruto turned to the page marked March, 19. Kushina was only 10.

_Kahna-sensei wasn't at the academy. Our sub told us she was sick and would be gone a few weeks. But I knew what happened. His body language was easily readable. I think I've been spending too much time with mom. I can easily tell when our teachers our lying now these days. It was obvious Kahna-sensei wasn't coming back._

_Mom was late tonight from her meeting. I once again made ramen for supper, even though everyone's been trying to get me to cut back. But tonight, mom didn't say anything. She just accepted her bowl, downed it in on gulp, and went to her room. Usually she would tell me how many people were lost today in the fights or who pissed her off this time, but she didn't do anything this night. I wonder what happened today._

_But now, as I"m writing this, I'm pretty sure I can hear her crying._

_I'm scared._

Naruto frowned as he turned the next page.

_March 20_

_I can't believe it! I'm actually going on mission! S-Rank, too! Orders from the head honcho himself. I was called out of class right after lunch to town hall. The council of elders was their along with my headmaster and my mom. The elders were smiling. My mom gave me a small smile, but it didn't look right._

_I immediately said 'I didn't do it', which made everyone chuckle. The head honcho told me the Leaf village was requesting a ninja that had an unlimited amount of potential for a classified mission with the hidden leaf. They told me mom already approved of the mission if I accepted. I saw her nod at the corner of my eye. Once I saw that, I immediately accepted the mission._

_The told me the actually mission wouldn't take place until I turned thirteen, but I would be able to begin my training within a week._

_Oh, I just want to tell everyone. But I know I can't._

_March 24_

_I'm so pissed off right now! Those old geezers didn't bother to tell me I would be leaving the village to start my training and would be staying in the Leaf village for next 10 years. 10 YEARS! Now I know why mom was sad these past few days. She could only tell me after I decided to accept the mission or not. Nevertheless, she told me she's proud of me and accepts my decision. She's been training me these pass few days and gave the heads up earlier this morning. She's been toughening me up so I can take on the boys and prove how tough a kunoichi can really be. I promised her I will. No student is ever going the best of ME! BELIEVE IT!_

_Naruto laughed out loud when he read that part. His mom was so much similar to him it was scary. He turned the page, hoping to read one more entry before he put it away for the night._

_March 26_

_Well, tomorrow is the day. Konoha is sending an escort to take back to the Hidden Leaf Village. Some big hotshot, shinobi name Jiraiya. Mom told me that if the guy ever looked at me looked at me wrong, I suppose to hit him in the nads as hard as I can._

_Mom and I didn't train today. Instead, we spent the whole day just hanging out. We slept in late, went fishing, had lunch at the ramen stand, and went through our old photo albums. After that we went for a walk through the village while she talked about meeting dad and how much she missed him. It was sad seeing my mom so vulnerable._

_When we got back, I immediately found out that my friends and family threw a going away party for me. Mom actually got a bathtub-size bowl of ramen for me. It was meant to be for everyone but I finished half of it before anyone else got it._

_Everyone's gone now. It's still hard to think about leaving tomorrow. In fact, when mom hugged me goodnight, we didn't let go for nearly ten minutes. This is going to be extremely hard for her. It's taken me this long to figure out I'm all she's got left._

_I think I'll go sleep in her bed tonight._

Naruto closed the book and wiped a tear from his eye. His mom sudden like a brash, young girl but one that was loved by her mother and her family.

"I wish we could have met, mom," he whispered.

He then felt two warm presences. One was the pendant on his chest. He grasped it and felt a glow swarm his entire body. It felt like the feeling he gets when he is with Ayame.

However, the second feeling seemed to come from his naval.

* * *

"We are almost there kids," said Shikaku as he led them through the forest path. It was noon and was starting to get warm in the day. Shikaku had told them they would meet their contact near the village's entrance. He had warned them about the screening process to get inside the village. They didn't take any offense to the process, only eager to begin to mission.

"Remember, we're going to be here for nearly a week's time, only as long as the festival allows. Our job is only to protect the borders of the village when it's our turn to patrol. Try not to get involved with problems the village has."

"Why not? Are we not allies?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, we are," Shikaku said. "But the problem is that even though we are allied, each village has it's own secrets and are always on a hair trigger to blow up."

"So be on our best behavior in other words," said Ino.

"Pretty much. I know it may be rough but-" Shikaku held up his hand, signaling them to stop. He made a notion to the trees to the left and the disappeared into them. Hiding in the branches, the gazed into the clearings.

"What is it, sensei?" asked Ino.

"There is a fight up ahead," he answered. "Be silent, stay in the trees."

The genin nodded and leapt through the branches towards the source of the commotion. The kids couldn't hear anything at first, but the sounds of a fight became pretty obvious the closer they got. The stopped when they came to a small clearing near the mountain range that lied in the center of the country. A giant waterfall was cascading from the mountain into a giant pool at the bottom. However, the roar of the falls did nothing to block the fighting.

Near the pool were two groups. The largest group was what seemed to be a group of about twenty bandits. They didn't look like they had any kind of training, but were carrying weapons. Looked gritty, but still dangerous to civilians.

The second, smaller group stood across from them. It only consisted of two individuals. One was a man who looked like just got the crap kicked out of him. He was bleeding and lying in the arms of a girl the same age as Team 10.

"Nice try, elder but now you're brat's going to pay the price," yelled the tallest bandit who was obviously the leader. In one hand he held a giant hammer. In the other he held a boy by front of his shirt.

"Let him go," yelled elder as he spat out blood and struggled to get up.

"I don' think so. You had your chance to tell me how to get into your village," the bandit yelled. He then threw the boy to the ground and raised his hammer. "Now you can suffer with your son's death!"

The elder and girl screamed out loud as the hammer descended onto the boy's head. But at the last second, the hammer froze.

"What the hell? I can't move!" the leader cried out. None of the other bandits noticed the thin shadow attached to him from the trees.

"Subdue them," said Shikaku as he held his hands in the ram seal. "I"ll hold the leader."

Team 10 leaped through the cover of the trees and towards the bandits. Ino pulled a handful of smoke bombs from her pouch and threw them into the center of the group. The bandits immediately started coughing the moment they exploded.

**"Shadow Clone Jutsu,"** cried Naruto. Five clones appeared beside him, each rushing off to deal with their own opponents. The original engaged the one who looked like he was next toughest guy after their leader. He was blindly swinging a chipped sword through the smoke. Naruto ducked under one swing and delivered a swift side kick to the man's gut, making him double over and allowing Naruto to knee him in nose. A loud crack echoed through the area as the man collapsed. Another thug saw his comrade fall and charged Naruto with a vengeful fury, swinging a heavy staff over his head for a downward strike. Naruto rolled through the man's legs and created another clone when he got back to his feet. He grabbed the clone's hands and swung him in an arc towards the man's head. The clone's feet connected to his head, causing the man to spin several time in air before landing hard onto the ground. Naruto kept swinging the clone and released him into three more thugs charging him together. The flying clone hit all three bandits with a bowling pin crash.

Ino threw a handful of shurikun towards two of the bandits. The stars embedded into their hands, causing them to drop their weapons. She gave a hard left hook to the first thug and made him spit out a few teeth. She leapt onto his neck and flipped towards the second bandit, swinging her leg into an axe kick onto his head. The bandit stayed up in a daze before falling over. A scrawny bandit came screaming towards her while swinging a badly damaged katana. Ino withdrew her father's sword and braced herself for her opponent's attack. The bandit swung the blade in a diagonal strike. Ino easily parried the blade, pivoted her feet and swung the blade downwards onto the bandit's hands without he flat side of the blade. The bandit screamed in pain and dropped his sword. Ino swung again and struck him on the side of the head, dropping him like dead weight. Then brought her blade to meet her next foe.

Shino hurried forward to the fallen child, since he was the fastest of his comrades. He pulled the child, who turned out to just as old as him, from underneath the lead thug's hammer. He carried the boy to the elder and girl and laid him gently onto the ground. Shino then rushed back into the battle with his insects flowing from his sleeves along with his kamas. His insects swarmed six of the bandits who were rapidly trying to brush them off. One bandit brushed off enough insects to swing his staff at Shino. The genin slashed towards the weapon, easily cleaving the end that would have slammed into his head. The thug stared stupidly at his staff. Shino gave three more quick strikes which reduced the weapon to kindling. He then gave a side kick to the man's chin, knocking the man out cold. He moved onto the other five bandits, quickly slashing their weapons to pieces and inflicting non-lethal cuts onto their arms and legs. In mere moments, they were immobile thanks to his skill and kikaichu.

Team 10 had dispatched their opponents in nearly 20 seconds. A few of them turned tail and ran seeing their comrades fall. Shikaku looked on with pride as he leapt to the ground with his shadow still attached to the lead thug.

"Good job, Team 10. Naruto, if you would?" asked Shikaku.

Naruto and his remaining clones nodded. They each pulled several balls of dough and rubbed them together.

**"Ninja Art! Ramen Bind Jutsu!"** All of them threw a ball of dough towards the bandits. One by one, they were bound with a strong rope of dough.

When the leader was bound, Shikaku released his shadow. The thug fell do the ground at their feet.

"Who the hell are you?" yelled the leader.

"You're not in a position to talk," said a calm Shikaku. "We'll deal with you in a moment." He turned his attention to the elder and two kids. He walked towards them and bowed to elder. "Hello once again, sir."

The elder looked confused before giving a small smile. "It's been a while Nara-san. It seems the Hokage has chosen well to aid us in our endeavor."

"You know these people, sensei?" asked the girl.

"Just the teacher," said the man. "We were comrades in the Last War." He then turned to the three genin. "And you come with students."

"Yes, I have," said Shikaku as he herded his students in front of him. "Meet your reinforcements."

The smile on the elder's face faltered a little. "Are you sure they will be enough?"

Shikaku smiled grew bigger. "They will be enough. Meet Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka Ino, and Aburame Shino." The genin each bowed when their name were called.

"And who might you be, sir?" Ino asked politely.

Before the elder could answer, their was a swift wind and five Waterfall jonin appeared next to them. All of them had the symbol of the waterfall inscribed onto their headbands. The man in the front looked on in surprise at the rounded up bandits and small team of genin. He turned to the elder.

"My lord! Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Suien," the man said as he was helped up by the boy and girl. "I was saved by our reinforcements."

The jonin turned to the Leaf ninjas with shock and disbelief. One started chuckling.

"This is what the mighty Hidden Leaf Village sends to help its allies in their time of need? An old teacher and three punks?" said the man.

Shikaku didn't say anything, but all the genin scowled in annoyance.

"I trust Sarutobi's confidence," said the elder. "If he believes they will be enough, then I will trust his judgement."

"Do you really believe so, my lord?" asked the Suien.

Before anyone could say anything, Shikaku clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I assure you that we are capable enough."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," sneered the jonin from earlier.

Naruto had about enough. He turned and headed into clearing away from the jonin. He knew he shouldn't have done this but he was just about tired of all the heckling. Naruto formed his hands into the cross symbol.

"Don't ever underestimate me!" Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The clearing was filled with smoke and several loud pops. A moment later, the smoke cleared and revealed nearly 500 shadow clones covering the area. Standing on the pool, hanging in the branches, and leaning on the rock face. Each of them had a sly smirk on their faces.

Everyone from the Waterfall village watched on in shock at Naruto's display. Shikaku watched with an annoyed acceptance. Shino and Ino both smiled at their friend's display of power.

"Good enough for you?" asked all of the Narutos.

There was a moment of silence before it was broken by the elder laughing. It was a few seconds of deep, booming laughter that echoed in the clearing. It was a while before he stopped.

"Leave it to the Sandaime to be full of surprises," the elder said. He turned to the leader of the jonin. "Take the prisoners to the interrogation hold. I want to know why they were wanting to get into our village."

Suien nodded and waved his hand to his comrades. They began to haul of the prisoners into the forest. The elder then turned to the genin and bowed to them. He was wearing a pair of black shinobi pants and sandals. He had a short-sleeved purple shirt. His was brown with gray streaks.

"My name is Shiruze Taka. I am the leader of Village Hidden in the Waterfalls." He raised his hand and motioned for the two kids to join him.

The boy was about their age, tall as Shino but a little on the jittery side. He was wearing pair of cargo shorts with his calves and ankles tapped up. He had on a blue long-sleeved shirt with a purple vest. He too had on a headband with the Waterfall symbol on his head. His brown hair and brown eyes were the same as his father's, except his hair was in a ponytail.

"This is my son, Shibuki," Taka announced.

Then the girl stepped. She was wearing a fishnet body suit with a short skirt and a tube top. Her hair was a lime-green color and cut short, just above her ears. Her eyes were red and were very bright.

It was her eyes the grabbed Naruto's attention the most. When looking into her eyes, it was like looking into a mirror. He saw the same loneliness and fear in her eyes. The feeling of abandonment and sadness. And with the way she was looking at him, he could instantly tell she could see the same thing.

"And this is my charge and apprentice, Fu."

Fu kept staring at Naruto as she walked up to greet them. She then bowed.

"It is an honor," she said in a near whisper. Her eyes never left the blonde male.

Naruto bowed back. It was a surprise to his friends and teacher to see him hold such chivalry towards others.

"It is an honor indeed."

_There is something about this girl that I feel that I need to know_ he thought.

* * *

I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Lately, I've been getting a little rusty in my writing. Please tell me what you think.


	11. Traitors and Beetles

Author's Note: Here's my newest chapter. However, I should warn everyone that it is not my best. A lot of what I wrote is mainly just to kill time. This chapter is either going make my story better or maybe even ruin it. But these are the chances we take in this world.

I hope everyone enjoys my newest chapter.

* * *

Everyone that wasn't wearing a Waterfall symbol on their person was required to be blindfolded. Shikaku warned his team of this village requirement, but it still annoyed Naruto to no end. If two sets of villages were allies, they shouldn't have keep their locations and entrances hidden. According to what Naruto learned in history class, at least the ones he stayed awake for, the Leaf and Waterfall village had never had in disagreements in the past. Unlike the Sand and Stone villages.

But Naruto guessed that was what being a 'Hidden Village' was all about.

Naruto sighed as the cloth covered his eyes. "You're not going to lead into any pitfalls, are you?"

A soft chuckled behind him let him know that it was Fu covering his eyes. "You will never know."

"That's nice to know," Ino muttered.

Naruto felt Fu's hands on his shoulders and gave him a push towards the waterfall. They walked along an uneven path towards the sound of waterfall. The louder the falls got, the more Naruto's skin and clothes were getting soaked. Then he felt his shoulder brush lightly against the stone cliff as the sound of falling water was near his other shoulder. Naruto realized that they were going behind the falls.

A rush of cool air met him as the wall beside him fell away into nothing. The sounds of the falls were now more pronounced and echoed. Their footsteps reverberated around him and made him wince thanks to his heightened hearing.

"You ok?" Fu asked. She guided him by steering him by his shoulders.

"I'm fine. It's just a little loud in here," Naruto answered.

"I understand. Your senses are heightened because your eyes are covered. You're forced to rely on your other senses."

"Yeah," he answered uneasily. He knew the heightened hearing wasn't from the blindfold. "It's a little creepy too."

"Yeah, it's dark, we're in a cave with Kami knows what-HOLE!"

Naruto yelped and hoped to the side. Over his panicked breathing, he heard Ino, Shikaku, Shibuki and Fu laughing at him with Shino silently chuckling. He scowled in the direction he heard Fu laughing.

"Real amusing," he growled.

Fu slapped him on the shoulder and began pushing him again. "Oh, lighten up. Would have been able to resist doing something like that?"

Naruto said nothing. To be honest, that though did cross his mind. Fu was right. He probably would not have been able to help himself to a prank like that.

"Maybe so," he sighed.

Fu snickered. "Told ya so. You seem like a fun guy. Not like the stiffs here."

Naruto would have laughed with her, but he suddenly felt a strong killer intent aimed at him. It seemed like all of the ninja in the cave, save for his friends, were wishing that they were slowly killing him with a very sick satisfaction. Naruto felt that sometimes several years ago in the Hidden Leaf Village.. He was about to retaliate when he felt Fu's hands slight grip his shoulders. Whether it was to comfort him or from her own anger, he calmed down.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"It's not your fault," she growled, causing him to jump. The venom in her voice almost froze his insides. It was clear she was pissed. Whether or not it was at him or not was the question.

Naruto wanted to ask why she was angry, but decided to ask at a better time. He and his friends were led further into the cave. He was soaked to his skin and he was pretty sure his friends were ticked. Ino's grumbling was noticeable over the echoing falls.

Suddenly, Fu pulled him to a stop.

"Are we there yet?" asked Naruto.

"Not quite. There is one more task we need to do," Fu stated. Then she wrapped her arms around Naruto's waist. Naruto froze.

"Um…Fu…what are you doing?" he asked meekly.

"Nothing. But when the time comes, you need to start kicking forward as hard as you can," she explained.

Naruto frowned. "What the heck are you-"

"Dive!" the Jonin captain yelled.

Naruto barely had time to think 'wha' when he was jerked off his feet. He heard Ino squeal in surprise before he felt himself hit a body of water. Panic began to rise inside him as he felt himself being dragged through the the cold blackness. Only then did he remember Fu's advice and began kicking his feet. He calmed down a little as he felt Fu guide him.

They made one quick right turn and felt himself rising to the surface. Naruto took a deep breath when he emerged from the water, relieved and a little ticked about the surprised dive. He heard several gasps around him and a loud curse from Ino. Before he could yell at Fu, he felt her hands untie the blindfold. He blinked several times when the sunlight hit his eyes.

"Welcome to Takigura. The Hidden Waterfall Village," she said.

When his eyes adjusted, the first thing Naruto viewed was one of the biggest trees he had ever seen. The base of the trunk seemed to be bigger than the area around the the Hokage Tower. The smooth trunk seemed to rise straight into the sky where the branches were. The branches stretched far enough to cover the entire village in shade. The tree was planted on a small island in the middle of a giant lake Naruto and his team were currently wading in. Several buildings surrounded the tree along with what looked like the village's Tower.

The rest of village was around the outside rim of the lake. Hundreds of stone buildings surrounded the lake with a giant forest surrounding the village. In the distance, Naruto saw a great stone wall that looped around the forest. The walls of the canyon seemed to almost reach the branches of the tree.

Taka's voice brought Naruto back to reality. "Shikaku, if you and you're team would follow me, I'll brief you on your assignments."

* * *

10 miles away from the waterfall entrance, a group of individuals were waiting word from their contact about the new individuals. All of them were laughing, cussing, rough-housing, and sharpening their weapons. Unlike the bandits from earlier, these individuals were trained fighters. They were a mix of academy drop-outs, rogue samurai, missing inn, and assassins. However, there fighting level wasn't beyond Chunin level. They were only mercenaries hired to cause panic

But there were two individuals who stood above them. They were the ones behind the entire plan that was currently taking route. The first one, dark, tall with solid green eyes, sat patiently near the edge of the camp fire. His patience was wearing thin however, thanks to his partner, who was pacing back and forth in front of him. This man was a head shorter than the first. His black hair was combed over to the side, nearly reaching his chin. His black eyes were burrowed to match his frown. On the front of his bandana was a metal plate with the symbol of the Hidden Mist Village scratched out.

The only common ground the two individuals had was they were both dressed in black cloaks with red clouds

"What the hell is taking so long?" the second man growled.

"You are trying my patience, Dario. If you want this plan to succeed, we need to wait."

Dario, the Mist-nin, scoffed. "You think I don't know that? I've been waiting for nearly a month for this plan to work and our window for success is diminishing."

The first man chuckled. "Are you afraid you're poison is not going to be sufficient for our cause?"

"My VIRUS is flawless. I've designed it specifically to block the chakra paths of shinobi and damage them. It has nearly destroyed the Waterfall's forces. No one can create a virus this dangerous. Not even the poison mistress, Shizune."

At that moment, a ninja shushined into the area. Dressed in Waterfall jonin outfit, the man smiled as he walked up to his higher ups.

"Their reinforcements are one jonin teacher and the three runts he is teaching."

Dario stopped pacing and grinned manically. "Oh, this is perfect. Pefect! Our mission is a now guaranteed success if all we have to worry about a few snot-nosed brats."

The green-eyed man stood up. "Who is the jonin-sensei?"

"Shikaku Nara of the Hidden Leaf Village."

Dario barked out a laugh. "The military strategist of the Third Ninja War? He's been reduced to a teacher?"

Green-eyed ignored his comrade. "And the brats?"

The jonin shrugged. "Two of them I don't remember. However, the third one I believe is supposed to be the reason they were chosen. The gaki was showing off how little brains he had by summoning a large number of clones. His name is Naruto Uzumaki."

Dario's eyes lit up and he burst out laughing. His comrade did nothing except wave his hand in dismissal.

"Keep an eye on the them. Let us know what Taka plans to do with them."

The jonin nodded and disappeared in swirl of leaves. Dario finally stopped laughing and grinned at his friend.

"I can't believe it. Our plan just got a two-for-one deal. Konoha just gave us their jinchuriki on a silver platter. We can kidnap it along with the 7-tailed."

"Keep quiet," growled Green-eye. "Those fools we've hired believe we are forming a plan to steal the famous village's secret weapon. They would turn tail and run if they realized we were fighting biju demons. Let's keep it that way."

"Yeah, yeah," mumbled Dario. "Just keep you stitches in."

Dario froze as his comrade stood up and glared at him. His crossed out Waterfall headband glinted in the fire light.

"Do not test me, Dario. It would be the last thing you ever do."

Dario held his hands in surrender. "N-no problem Kakuzu."

* * *

Team 10 stood in front of Taka's desk in a room that was similar to the Hokage's. Behind the team were three jonin guards who stood at attention. Standing on Taka's left was Shibuki while Fu leaned against the doorway, looking bored. The jonin were glaring at her, but she didn't seem to notice. Naruto did, however.

Taka continued his speech, breaking Naruto out of his trance. "Due to the disease that has swept through our village in the past month, we are currently short handed on shinobi. Our chunin forces have been cut down by 75% while our jonin has 90%. Luckily, the we haven't lost any of our young genin force. The disease has claimed the lives 75 shinobi and 25 civilians. We were able eventually neutralize the virus with an experimental vaccine and halt the death toll, but everyone cured has had their chakra systems heavily damaged. It would take another month before their systems are well enough to return to active duty. However, the council and along with a majority of citizens have decided to continue on with the coronation festival. So, here we are, requiring your assistance for the next week."

"What will our assignments be?" asked Shikaku.

"You and your team will start your shift in the late afternoon until around three or four in morning. My shinobi will be handling everything else. I hope that won't be a problem."

Everyone shook their head. Naruto raised his hand.

"Yes?" Taka asked.

"Is that the reason I'm here? To cover more ground with my shadow clones?"

Taka nodded. "Yes. Your demonstration outside made me realize that Sarutobi was right in selecting you for this mission. When your shadow clones are engaged, you will always have a Waterfall ninja accompanied with you. So if there is any danger, the shinobi and I will be alerted. Anything else?"

Shino raised his hand. "With your forces indisposed, will the village be in any immediate danger?"

This made Taka grimace. "I'm afraid I do not know. To be honest, any village is always in danger. We are no different. But right now, we have had no reports regarding of an invasion or anyone who would show any malice to us." Taka smiled. "But then again, my village has never successfully been invaded."

In the back, Naruto heard Fu scoff. He also felt the K.I. rise from the three jonin.

"I think that will be all," Shikaku said in a hurry. "If it's okay with you, my team would like to get started as soon as we can."

Taka shook his head. "Don't worry about starting immediately, Shikaku-san. You and your team have had a long journey and need rest. Not to mention the fight you had earlier. If you want, you can start tomorrow."

Shikaku looked at his students. Shino was indifferent, Ino shrugged and Naruto just grinned.

"If it's okay with you, we just like to get some lunch before we begin," Shikaku answered. "We can start our shift in a couple of hours."

Taka was silent for a moment before nodding. "If that his your decision." His gaze went behind the Konoha ninjas. "Fu, would you please show our young genin where they will be staying for the duration of their visit and then take them to lunch. Their sensei will be joining them as soon as I'm done speaking him."

Fu stood at attention and bowed to Taka. "Yes, sir." She turned to the genin. "If you will follow me."

Naruto grabbed his pack and led his friends out the door. As he passed the jonin, he heard one of them mutter 'monster'.

* * *

Shikaku watched his team leave, the glares of the jonin followed them out of the room. He turned back to Taka.

"With your permission, there are some matters that need to be discussed in private," he said.

Taka nodded and waved his hand. "Suien, if you would please?"

The jonin captain nodded and the three ninjas disappeared.

"You too, Shibuki," Taka said.

The boy nodded sadly. "Of course, father." He then walked out the door.

"Where would you like to begin?" Taka asked as soon as the door closed behind Taki.

Shikaku turned his gaze back to the door. "They still don't accept her, do they?"

Taka sadly shook his head. "In the 15 years since she had the beast sealed within her, she hasn't had one moment where she has tapped into its chakra. She is as normal as any other ninja in my village. But the villagers and other shinobi still believe the First Hokage's gift to this village is nothing but a curse. They can't see beyond the beat's shadow to know what an extraordinary woman she is."

"She seems to be very angry," added Shikaku.

"That she is," agreed Taka. "I think I'm the only person she has absolute trust. Everyone else she believes needs a severe beating or even killed. I'm afraid if this keeps up, she will lose her faith in humanity and become violently aggressive. I don't know what to do."

Shikaku gave a small grin. "Maybe Naruto can help her out."

Taka looked surprised. "How?"

"Two reasons: One, Naruto has extraordinary ability to bring the best in people. He as the power to make friends with anybody and see the light that makes the individual unique. He's friends with all of the genin he graduated with and even invites them to spar and have lunch. In turn, the friendship received from his friends is the power he uses to succeed. Protecting his friends is what makes him one of the strongest genin in the village."

"And the other reason," asked Taka.

Shikaku took a deep breath. He had been given permission from the Hokage to tell Taka Naruto's secret.

"Reason number two is Naruto can relate to Fu is because he carries a similar burden."

It took a moment for Taka to realize the message. His mouth dropped open in surprise.

"The Kyuubi attack thirteen years ago?" Taka asked in shock.

Shikaku nodded. "The fox demon was sealed into Naruto less than a hour after he was born. There were complications and the fox escaped from the previous jinchuriku. Naruto was the best choice for the sealing."

Taka rubbed the bridge of his nose, his mind churning at this information. It explained how he was able to summon an impossible amount of shadow clones earlier. It also explained another reason why Sarutobi sent this squad to help out.

"I hope he can help Fu out," he said. "I love her like she was my own daughter and hate seeing her going down this path of distrust and anger."

"He will," Shikaku smiled. "Believe it."

Taka chuckled. "I just might. She has calmed down since he's been here." He then clapped his hands together. "Anything else?"

Shikaku turned serious. "Now we need to discuss the possibility that the reason a number of your shinobi have become ill is because someone is planning an attack. With that, you may have a traitor in your midst."

* * *

As Fu led them through the village, Team 10 saw the villagers getting ready for their festival. People were opening up booths to sell crafts and food. Others were hanging up colored lanterns while others were putting up banners and lights. There were musicians already playing songs with children dancing around each other. The smell of all kinds of treats were already wafting through the air. Everything from roasted fish, fried noodles, ramen, tabasoburo, rice balls, hot spuds, octopus dumplings, okonomiyaki, and fried squid. Naruto's mouth was watering at the thought of eating lunch here.

But his appetite was gone when he saw everyone's attention on Fu as she led them through the village. They gave her a wide berth while glaring at her and muttering curses under her breath. Mom's whisked their children away, owners who were welcoming shoppers suddenly stood in front of their doors, and those who carried small knives withdrew them.

Naruto caught Shino's stare, his eyebrow raised just the slightest in confusion. Ino was glancing back and forth at the villagers, no doubt feeling the hostility from them.

Naruto really wanted to say something to Fu, but reframed from it when he saw how tense she was. Her gaze never left the path she walked on.

Eventually, they reached outside the village, where several small stone houses were gathered around into a small community. Fu led them to largest one.

"Here's were all the visitors and traders stay when they visit our village," she explained. "They're small, but comfortable enough. You'll each have your own rooms."

"Thanks, Fu," said Ino said with a smile.

Fu looked startled, but gave a small grin. "You're welcome. Go pick your rooms and I'll wait outside."

Team 10 walked inside to a small living room. Two couches were positioned in front of a fireplace with a writing desk in one corner. They could see a small kitchen through one of the doorways and found a closet in one of the closed doors. A stairwell led them to the rooms above. There were five doors, four leading to a room while the fifth led the bathroom complete with a tub.

"Take your pick," said Naruto. He grabbed the first door on his right while Ino picked the one opposite of him. Shino picked the second room beside Naruto. Naruto placed his pack onto the twin-size bed in the middle of the room. Besides the bed, there was only a dresser, a bedside lamp, and a small window with a view of the Great Tree. Below him, he could see that Fu was waiting patiently for them.

Naruto walked back into the hallway, where Shino and Ino was waiting for him.

"Hungry?" he asked them.

Ino nodded, but Shino said nothing.

"Is something wrong?" Ino asked him.

"I'm just curious about the villages' reactions to us," Shino stated.

"I know. The tension was so thick I swear it was solid," said Ino. "And I did notice several hostile glances."

"It wasn't us they were glaring at," said Naruto. "It was Fu."

Ino frowned. "Why would they be angry with her? She seemed nice to me."

"I'm not sure," Shino said.

"How about we worry about it later?" Naruto said. "It's probably something she doesn't want to discuss."

Naruto led the way back outside, to where Fu was waiting. She smiled at their approach.

"So, anything in particular you guys are hungry for?" she asked. Naruto shrugged, along with Ino. Shino shook his head slightly. "I know a place that serves some great roasted pork if you three are interested."

"Sounds good to me," Ino smiled. The smells from earlier had made her hungry as well.

"Come one," Fu said and began to lead them back into the village. After a few minutes and more hostile glares, she led them to a nice, little shop called 'Yamana's bistro'. So many wondrous smells were wafting through the entrance that Naruto's legs made him walk on their own. He opened the door for his teammates as the walked in, but saw Fu was still standing in the street. She had her hands behind her back and was looking down the street. She looked very uneasy.

"Aren't you coming?" asked Naruto.

Fu looked to him and then down at her feet. "I'm afraid I'm not welcome in there."

"Why not?" But even as he asked this, something in his gut was beginning to tell him this scene was familiar.

"The people in there just don't like me," she admitted. "It's not a big deal."

"It is to me," said Naruto as he walked back to her. "Come on. I'll tell them you're with us."

Fu didn't answer for a few moments, but nodded her head. She led him back to the shop while Naruto followed. He was sure this would work. When he was a child and a certain restaurant wouldn't serve him, he would always go with Sarutobi, Teuchi, or Shikaku. The owners wouldn't dare deny him if one them was with him.

Ino and Shino were standing next by the door, waiting to be served. A few moments later, a teen waitress walked up to them.

"Welcome," she said cheerfully. "Four, then? Just follow me and-"

She froze when her eyes landed on Fu. Her face went from cheer to disgust as she turned on her heel and headed to the back. The sudden movement caused the other servers to turn and see what all the commotion was about. Immediately, their faces showed the same expression.

"What was that about?" a perplexed Ino asked. Her answer came a moment later when a man with dark hair and an expensive kimono walked up to them. Naruto took a guess and dubbed him the owner of the bistro. He did not look happy.

"You three are welcome here, but that insect behind you isn't."

Ino and Shino flinched while Fu glared daggers at the man. Naruto scowled at the man and immediately walked in front of Fu to shield her. The glare on the on her face melted into confusion.

"She's with us," Naruto growled. His voice altered deeply and made the man almost step back.

"Look, you three gakis are new so let met help you understand something. That monster behind you is not welcomed here."

He made a move towards Fu with an outstretched hand, but Naruto had enough. He grabbed the man's hand and flipped into an arm-bar behind the man's back. Naruto then pushed the attacker's face into the wooden frame of the entrance. Gasps echoed throughout the room while waiters and other large customers got up to help. They stopped when Ino and Shino immediately stood behind Naruto to protect him. Ino had a kunai in her hand while Shino's glare was enough to freeze them.

Naruto's voice was enough the give everyone shivers. "Now you listen, you baka. Her name is Fu. She is a human being and ninja in your village. She gives her life everyday to ensure you village's safety. So she deserves the utmost respect. Got it?"

The man tried to push away. "That freak doesn't-"

Naruto pushed the man harder against the frame. "If you say that word again, I'm going to-"

WHAM!

Naruto turned to see Fu walking out the door and back into the street. Naruto growled and let go of the owner. He was mentally kicking himself as he followed Fu outside with Shino and Ino behind him. Neither one of them said anything until the caught with Fu a few blocks later on the outskirts of the village.

"Fu, please wait up," Naruto called out.

Fu stopped and turned around to meet them. On her face was a look of fury.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded. "I didn't need any help dealing with them. I get it all the time so it's nothing new. Besides, I told you I wasn't welcomed there. All you have done is made them pissed off at you!"

Shino and Ino just looked at each other in confusion. However, Naruto glared right back.

"They had no right to treat you like that. Nothing you've done outside of killing your own comrades do you deserve that kind of treatment. You're a shinobi and Taka's ward. Those people should be ready to serve you as well as anybody that walks through that door."

Fu threw up her hands in frustration. "I'm the village outcast, it comes with the job. I don't give a damn what those bastards think about me or how they treat me."

Naruto sighed and walked to her, face-to-face.

"You're right. Their opinion doesn't matter, only your own. But that still is no excuse for their behavior. It was despicable. And I don't care what the think of me or how pissed off they are. The one thing I do is always look out for my friends."

Fu's face went from fury to shock. She tried to speak several times but nothing came out. Except for one word.

"Friends?"

Shino stepped forward. "I do not know why your village seems to hold you in such contempt, but I know for sure it is inexcusable."

Ino nodded and added," We were willing to protect you in there just as we were willing to protect Naruto as he was tearing that owner a new one."

Fu swallowed. "I don't know what to say."

"Maybe if you explain why your village is treating you like this, we can try to help," said Ino helpfully.

Naruto turned to glare at her, but stopped when Fu chuckled darkly. "Sorry, sweetheart, but my problem isn't one that can be solved so easily."

"Why," Shino asked.

Fu shrugged slightly. "It's not exactly a secret, so I guess I can tell you. You're opinion of me might change though."

Naruto braced himself for what he was beginning to already guess.

"I'm a jinchuriku. Inside my chakra network, my body contains the Nanabi, the seven-tailed beetle."

* * *

Suien, jonin commander of the Hidden Waterfall Village, stood at attention as he watched Shibuki go through his training stances at Taki's home. Suien has been Shibuki's teacher ever since the boy could walk. Since he the leader's son, Suien had been assigned to instruct the boy on how to be a ninja. Everything from taijutsu to ninjutsu had been burned into Shibuki's brain for nearly six hours a day. Suien spent most of time trying to encourage the boy to try his hardest since he was easily frightened by the smallest things. Still, he did what he was told.

Even though he hated it with every fiber of his being.

He was tired. Tired of listening to Shibuki complain about everything he was instructed to do. Tired of chasing Fu all over the village when she did something wrong along with listening to her badmouth everyone in the village. Tired of Taka's weak decisions on how to rule this village. Every since the Third Ninja War, Taka has gotten soft. Takigure should have risen up and become a bigger and stronger village. They should be on par with any of the other 5 Great Villages. But here they where, hiding behind a waterfall. Suien wanted to be the next leader, not Shibuki. He wanted power. He wanted glory.

He wanted the Hero's Water.

Suien was lucky that there a several members of the Waterfall's shinobi force that believed the same thing. Together, they pooled all the money they had into hiring a mercenary force to help them in their endeavor. Much to Suien's surprise, a small group of S-Rank criminals answered the call. He was even more shocked when one of the shinobi they met was Kakuzu. He thought the missing-nin died over 100 years ago. The Missing-nin only agreed to help for two reasons: the first one was when Suien became to leader, he would give 3/4 of the village's treasury to the organization. The second was he would hand the insect freak to him and his organization. Suein didn't know what they wanted her for, but he didn't care. And he thought the payment was fair enough.

Kakuzu's partner was able to create a chakra consuming virus that dwindled the Waterfall's forces while Suien's traitors were safe with a vaccine that was created as well. Now, all Suein had to do is wait for the right moment to strike with his forces and Kakuzu's hired guns.

At that moment, one of his jonin comrades appeared behind him. He turned his gaze from Shibuki to the ninja. "What are Lord Kakuzu's orders? Is his attack plan ready to begin?"

"Not yet, Suien-san," the jonin replied. "He wants to keep an eye on the Leaf genin for the time being."

Suien frowned. "Why would he give a rat's ass about those brats?"

"He want's to know why they are here and wants an eye on them at all times?"

Suien sighed, but nodded. "Fine. Keep our comrades informed of what's going on."

The jonin nodded and shushined away. Suien turned back to Shibuki, a small grin forming on his face.

_It's only a matter of time._

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Ino stated. "When you were a baby, the village council discovered you had a very unusual chakra system and selected you to become the vessel for the Nanabi: a huge entity of chakra that takes the form of a huge rhinoceros beetle with seven tails. They sealed this "biju" into your chakra core in your belly, but for a moment, the beast revealed itself in its true form and killed several shinobi, including your parents. Your village leader, Taka, took you on as his charge and raised you since then. However, everyone else has treated you like crap."

Fu shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah."

They four genin were sitting on a set of stools in a food stand on the edge of town. It was seedy, rundown, and creepy, but it was the only place that Fu was allowed to eat. The owner/cook was an overweight man in a torn kimono, a scraggly beard and very dirty hands. Team 10 didn't want to offend Fu, so the sucked it up and ordered. He served a little bit of everything so Shino ordered a soup, Ino ordered a plate of friend noodles, Fu ordered a plate of dumplings and Naruto had the ramen. He was listening to Fu's story and watching the cook make the food. And scratch his belly with the spatula.

Shino stepped into the conversation. "And this is why your village scorns you? For something that was completely out of your control?"

"Yep," Fu popped. "They believed that I killed those people 15 years ago. They believe I killed my own parents. They believe I'm nothing but I monster."

"Your NOT a monster, Fu," barked Naruto. "Those idiots believe only the bad of what happened, not something was out of your control. They wanted to blame on someone for what happened and picked you. You walk in the streets while people whisper 'monster' and 'freak' when you've done nothing wrong." He turned from the cook to Fu. "Always remember that. You've done nothing wrong."

Fu stared at him in silence with a raised eyebrow. "Thanks," she said skeptically.

Shino stepped back in. "I agree with my friend. You shouldn't let others get under your skin like that."

Fu snorted. "That's easy for you to say. You don't have chakra entity sealed within you."

Shino raised his arms and allowed a few of insects to fly out his sleeves. The insects buzzed and bristled as they hovered in the air. When Shino spoke, his voice was harder than it has been earlier.

"I may not have a biju inside of me, but I do know what it is like to be an outcast because of what is inside you. My family's methods of being insect tamers has made them ostracized from the village. They never took the time to learn our ways so they think we're mysterious and bizarre. Yes, when I was born, I made a pact to have a queen and several of her drones sealed inside of me. This was considered very barbaric by most of the villagers. But they never realized that my kikaichu are my family as well as my weapons. They protect my body as they use it as a hive. They feel my emotions and react to them. And for the longest time, they were my only friends."

"And then what happened?" asked Fu.

"A small group of new genin wished me congratulations when I passed the exam. It was the first time ever someone outside of my family had ever said anything to me. And then," Shino gave the barest hint of a smile and put his hand on Ino and Naruto's shoulder. "I found friends in my teammates. When we were assigned to be a team, I never would believe that they would become my friends. Friends I would give my life to protect."

Naruto smiled and patted Shino on his shoulder. Ino smiled too and squeezed Shino's hand on her shoulder. The trio enjoyed the moment before the cook placed their food on the countertop.

"Order up," he said gruffly.

"That's a nice story," Fu said as she picked up her chopsticks. "A real fairy tale. Too bad they don't always come true for everyone." She picked up her chopsticks and dug into her dumplings. On her first bite, she crunched into her meal.

Naruto, Shino and Ino stared. They were pretty sure dumplings didn't crunch and were now looking at there food. Ino's noodles were black from the old grease on the stove and were burnt on the ends. Shino's soup, tomato, was nothing but tomato lumps in water that was barely red. Naruto's ramen was just as bad. The broth was as thin as Shino's soup and the noodles were undercooked. The trio looked at each other uncertainly. However, they didn't want to offend Fu. Naruto bravely picked up his chopsticks and slowly brought the noodles to his mouth. He chewed only once. And then spat the noodles back out.

"What the hell?" Naruto gagged. "Those weren't noodles! They were strands of cow fat!"

"Excuse me," the cook growled.

Naruto spat the taste out once more. "And what kind of broth was that? It tasted like someone pissed in it."

"Look, punk," the cook grumbled. "You pay for what you eat. If you want ramen, cook it yourself."

Naruto put his hand in a cross and called out five shadow clones. Without any consent from the cook, they all walked behind the counter.

"Fine," they all said.

* * *

Later, Shikaku and Taka were walking in the street and watched the villagers prepare for the festival. They just finished discussing the possibility of a spy in their midst and if so, who could it be. Taka was still reeling from the shock that one of his own shinobi might betray the village. It wasn't impossible. The Waterfall Village, as well as any village, had their fair share of missing-nin. However, Taka treated every shinobi like they were his own blood. To be betrayed like this, it was a hard blow indeed.

He immediately set his ANBU on searching for the spy. His team, consisting of only five ninja, were the best the Village had ever seen since the village was created. True, his ANBU unit was small compared to other villages, but they were the best at what they do.

But right now, they duo were discussing a new problem that just recently came to light. They were several complaints given to Taka about Fu and the three Leaf genin causing trouble at a local eatery. Seems they threatened the owner of the establishment we he refused to serve Fu. Shikaku was livid at his team's reckless behavior, but Taka managed to calm him down. He said no charges will be filed against them because the genin defended Fu.

"I should have taught them more sense than that," growled Shikaku. "They're on a mission that represents the reputation of the Hidden Leaf. While their cause was noble, they needed to learn that their actions had consequences."

"Nara-san, it's all right. My council won't make any decisions without my consent. In fact, I should probably thank them for showing such loyalty," finished Taka.

"Thank them if you want to, but I'm still going to reprimand them for this."

Taka sighed. "Fine. But if this Naruto and his friends are what you say, they won't regret their decision."

"That is true," Shikaku admitted. "You know if Naruto keeps this up, he's going-"

"Wait," Taka said. "What's that?" He pointed to where a small group of people where gathered. They could hear them chattering excitedly and see more heading in their direction. Two people walked away holding two steaming bowls and were eagerly eating with their chopsticks. Over the crowd, Shikaku heard a voice calling out to the crowd.

"Get your ramen here!"

Shikaku whacked his forehead with his hand.

"What's going on?" asked a puzzled Taka.

"Naruto, once again," Shikaku grumbled.

More of the crowd broke and they now could see Naruto. Several of his clones were furiously cooking in the food stand and serving it to customers while the cook stood by and took notes. Fu, Ino and Shino were still sitting at the bar and enjoying Naruto's ramen. But what really caught their attention was one of the Narutos dancing on top of the stand. He was wearing black, suede shoes, white pants, a red and white stripped shirt complete with bowtie, straw hat, and cane.

"That's right, folks! Come and get your ramen! I guarantee you'll never find a more delicious recipe than Ichiraku's ramen! I've got miso, shrimp, pork, BBQ, beef, chicken and vegetable broth! I even have a dietary ramen for all of you lovely girls who want to keep your luscious curves while tasting deliciousness! Why, I eat my hat if you can't find a better tasting ramen then right here! Now step up folks because we are having a sale on ramen!"

Shikaku sighed, but had a small smirk. "If he's not protecting his friends, he's selling his ramen. Should I stop-" He turned to find Taka gone. "Taka-san?"

"I'll be right back, Nara-san!" Taka called over his shoulder as he ran to crowd.

* * *

It was the late afternoon before Team 10 finally got organized and prepared for their mission back at their lodge. It actually took a while for the crowd and the cook to let go of Naruto. The villagers, the ones who didn't meet Team 10, wanted more ramen. The cook wanted more ramen recipes. Naruto promised him more if would change his shop to sell only Ichiraku's ramen under the contract that it would be a chain store for Ichiraku.

Shikaku didn't find this as amusing as his teammates, Fu and Taka did.

"You're here representing the Leaf Village. You are supposed to be professional and the example of a disciplined team. And on your first day here, you threaten several of the civilians here and draw attention to yourself with that stunt at that bistro stand. What to have to save for yourselves?"

Naruto was currently looking through a book of all his notes he took on changing the ramen shop. "Maybe I should have called the new place 'Naruto and Ichiraku's Ramen Shop'? I mean, no offense to pops, but I did start the place."

This caused Ino to snort and Shino to flinch; his version of snort.

"This isn't funny, Naruto," growled Shikaku. "Either one of those stunts could have damaged the Leaf Village's reputation as well as damage our treaty. Do you want to start a war?"

Naruto scowled and put his notes away. "No, I don't want to start a war. But if you think I'm going stand by and let the village treat Fu like some sort of disease that needs to be exterminated, you got another thing coming. I thought you would understand why I am I'm trying to help her."

Ino and Shino glanced at Naruto with confusion. The story Shino told them earlier would help Fu understand what Shino went through in their village, but why would Shikaku and Naruto understand each other about her situation?

Shikaku sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Fine, Naruto. I did tell Taka that would help her with her problem. I was hoping you would be a little more subtle than what happened earlier though. Just don't expect it to be easy to help her understand."

Naruto gave a small smile. "Nothing important ever is."

Before Ino and Shino could ask what they meant, there was a knock on their door. The Leaf team went outside to see Fu and two Waterfall chunin outside. Shikaku told his team earlier that they would be divided up into teams. Shino and Ino would be teamed up with a chunin while Shikaku was teamed up with the other chunin and Naruto was teamed up with Fu.

"Everyone ready?" asked Fu. "We will be on patrol until the next shift, which is at four in the morning. Then our jonin and chunin will replace you guys on the next shift. Everyone else on this patrol are already in their designated spots. Naruto and I will take the Northern border. Ino and Shino will take the active patrol rotation and Shikaku will be helping the ANBU guard the village tower. Everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded and began to pair off. Shikaku and his chunin escort shushined away. Ino and Shino along with their chunin leapt into the trees.

"So, when are you going to help?" asked Fu when they were alone. "Bust out some clones."

"All right," Naruto said as he cracked his knuckles. He put his hands in the cross symbol. "**Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu! Multi-Transformation!"**

Dozens of loud pops and puffs of smoke surrounded the area. After a moment for the smoke to clear, around two hundred figures encompassed the two ninja. But instead of exact copies of Naruto, each clone small distinguishing features that made them look unique. This way it was easier to control the transformations. Also, half of them were wearing Waterfall style outfits while the other half were a mix of chunin and jonin leaf outfits. Some looked male. Others looked female.

"Whoa," Fu said. "That's pretty cool." She squinted at the clones. "How did you get each one to look like a different person?"

"If you would visit my village, you might recognize several of the faces my clones took," Naruto explained. "Each face my clones had mimicked a distinguished feature from every villager in the Hidden Leaf. Civilians only though, not actual shinobi. That might be dangerous."

"It still doesn't answer my question. How do they know not to make the same disguise."

Naruto shrugged. "I really don't know. They just do." He waved his hand to his clones. They scattered to the trees in all directions. He turned to Fu. "Shall we get started?"

Fu nodded and led the way through the trees. He followed a few steps behind her as they headed north. For ten minutes, they traveled in silence. The only sound was the rush of wind in their ears as the flew through the trees. Naruto really wanted to talk, but thought it was best to wait until she started a conversation.

Fu didn't stop until she reached the north canyon wall. Naruto followed her as she leapt up one of the taller trees in the area. She stopped on one of the large branches that gave them a 180 degree vision of the field around the canyon wall. Any intruder would be spotted easily, even by two genin.

Fu sat down on the edge of the branch, her legs dangling in the air. Naruto sat down beside her, one leg dangling while the other was against his chest. The two faced in opposite directions, just listening to the sounds of the forest and each other's breathing.

"So," Fu broke out. "Tell me about yourself."

Naruto gaped. "Whaa?"

Fu rolled her eyes. "You. Tell me about you. You know about my life story and the bug I have sealed inside of me. The only thing I know about you is you're loyal to your friends, a skilled fighter, you have a tremendous amount of chakra to summon that many shadow clones, and you have an obsession with ramen."

"Obsession with ramen, huh?" Naruto smiled. "Well, you're right about that."

"Just start from the beginning," said Fu.

Naruto took a deep breath. "I'm 13 and a genin from the Hidden Leaf village. You know about my teammates so I'll talk about everyone else. Believe it or not, I'm very good friends with the Hokage."

Fu's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah," Naruto nodded. "I'm an orphan, too. The Sandaime helped me get back on my feet when I was a kid because I kept getting in trouble with the villagers. No one wanted to adopt me so he gave me a pension and an apartment. He was always around to help me out and like to think of him as my grandfather."

"How hold were you?"

"Seven."

"You've been on your own since you were seven years old?" asked Fu shockingly.

"No, I had my pops and my girlfriend. Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku. They took me in and gave me a job at their ramen stand. I've been working them and became a ninja ever since."

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah." Naruto got his wallet out and showed her a picture. It was taken about a month ago, after Mizuki was caught. Naruto was grinning and blushing at the camera while Ayame stood behind him with her arms around his neck. She had her lips on his check while she smiled at the camera.

"She's very pretty," Fu admitted.

Naruto smiled and put the picture away. "She's the best."

"And Teuchi? You said you were an orphan, but you called him pops."

This caused Naruto's smile to falter a little bit. "He's more of a father than my real one. Teuchi was someone who could look underneath the underneath and see a person for who they were. He saw me, not the de- I mean troublemaker I was."

Fu watched him closely, causing him to swallow. He knew she caught his slip.

"What happened to your parents?" she asked.

Naruto hesitated before answering that question. "They…died. They died thirteen years ago when the Kyuubi attacked the Hidden Leaf Village."

"I heard about that. They said Hokage during that time was able to face it head on and destroy it."

Naruto didn't say anything. He kept staring ahead, knowing the Fu was looking at him. She was waiting for a reaction from him.

It was several minutes before she broke the silence. "Can you keep a secret? From your friends, sensei and even Taka?"

Naruto finally met her gaze and slowly nodded.

Fu stood up and closed her eyes. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a seal appeared on her stomach.

It was different than Naruto's seal. Instead of a spiral, there was circle with a triangle surrounding it. In the middle of the circle was the kanji symbol 'water prison'. Looping around the triangle were six spirals similar to Naruto's middle one, except they were smaller and only had two, full rotations.

"This is a Umi Prison seal. It's what holds the Nanabi inside my chakra network," Fu explained. She opened her eyes and the symbol on her midriff faded.

"Is that all?" asked Naruto.

Fu shook her head. "What I'm about to tell is something I never told anyone before. It scares me just thinking about it. But for some odd reason, something is telling me I should trust you with it."

Naruto got to his feet and stood across from her, looking into her eyes. "Yes?"

Fu took a deep breath. "It…sometimes talks to me."

Naruto gave a small gasp. "Talks to you?"

"Yes," Fu nodded. "It gives me hints from time to time. Not in words, but with feelings. I think it does just to scare me. During the my lifetime, it's only talked to me 15 times. But then…"

Naruto took a step closer, waiting for her answer.

"You showed up. Every since I first saw you, the Nanabi has been restless. It is constantly trying to send me signals. I can't quite seem to understand them, but I think they're trying to tell me something important about you. Now, I think I know what they are."

This caused Naruto to swallow. He could sense she knew the truth.

"Throughout the day, you've been trying to get to know me when nobody else has even tried. Today in the restaurant, you and your friends defended me when you had know me less than an hour. During my story at lunch, you knew I heard cruel whispers from the villagers. You still defended me even when you learned what I contained. I thought you were just defending Shino because of his insects, but it was more deeper than that. You know my pain because you've been through it as well, haven't you?"

Naruto stared at her for a long time. Neither one of them blinked. He knew he could never keep his burden a secret for long. Telling Ayame and Teuchi was one thing. Telling his friends was another. How do you tell your friends you hold a monster that wiped a majority of the village and killed a lot of innocent people?

But maybe, the best person to tell was someone who knew the loneliness he once had.

Naruto lifted up his jacket while focusing his chakra. Like Fu, his seal appeared on his stomach. A look of shock spread across her face.

"Nanabi, meet Kyuubi," Naruto whispered as he dropped his jacket.

Fu stared hard at Naruto. He couldn't tell if she was angry with him or not. Right now, he wished she would say anything. Even if it was something cross for hiding his secret from her.

Suddenly, she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around his body. He reacted by instinct and caught her when she put her weight on him. He could feel her slightly shaking and crying. A single tear fell on his neck.

"I never…." she whispered. "I..never thought….I would….find another."

He wrapped his arms a little tighter around her. The emotion he felt when he realized who she was came gushing out and his eyes got watery.

"Me neither," he whispered. "It's nice to finally meet a member of my family."

"You too, little brother," she chuckled.

* * *

I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter.


	12. Stitches and Swarms

I apologize for the late update. My new job is more time consuming than I previously thought. In fact, I may be changing the way I write this story. I'm not abandoning it, but I'm trying something new. Instead of long chapters, I going to to publish chapters that are only about three thousand words long. Let's see if I can create an impressive story with limiting the amount of words.

* * *

If you would ask any of the Waterfall villagers or Taka if they had every seen Fu as happy as she had ever been, they would have believed it was impossible. Everyday during the festival, the girl would walk in the streets with a big smile on her face and be completely oblivious to the glares and harsh whispers. It was such a mystery because one day, a man screamed 'demon insect' at her in the streets and all she did was smile. Then skipped back down the road.

Taka was just as happy as she was. Never did he think the day would come when he would see Fu this happy. And he owed his thanks to Naruto.

The boy was always at Fu's side whenever he could, laughing and goofing off. The villagers only knew him as the hired Leaf-nin who helped start a successful ramen shop. They wondered what he did to help change their village outcast.

Shino and Ino wanted know that was well. The duo decided that it just Naruto being Naruto. He could bring out the best in anyone. They enjoyed her company as much as Naruto did. Shino was impressed about how much knowledge she had about the insects around the forest area and she gladly gave him a tour to help him add to his collection. Ino and Fu spent time together in the fields, where they pulled seeds from exotic flowers to collect for the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino also tried jokingly to get the secret of the Waterfall's secret weapon, but Fu just laughed and said she didn't know about it either.

Shikaku was happy as well, but he couldn't help but worry about his students and the situation. He was truly proud of his team and they way they handled Fu's discrimination, but he was disturbed about what the villager's opinions might become of the Leaf Village. A majority of villagers saw Fu as a monster and from the whispers he heard, they would be glad to get rid of her. And if the Leaf shinobi were becoming friendly with her, they might find allies in other villages.

Shikaku told his concerns to Taka, who toke them in stride. He knew what was on the mind of his village and always tried to find a way to solve it. Taka told Shikaku he would have a solution for Fu before Team 10 left.

* * *

"We're running out of time!" Dario yelled at Kakuzu. The man's patience was wearing thin for the past week as the group of mercenaries waited for their leader's decision to strike. Dario was getting the most impatient of the group and was about to go nuts.

It was afternoon and the villages festival was on its last days. Suein had sent a messenger at least twice a day to find out when Kakuzu would make his move against the Waterfall. And each time, Kakuzu told them to wait.

"The time is almost near," Kakuzu calmly said every time.

Dario growled in frustration. "Suein told us that the Konoha team will be leaving in two days. We need to strike now if we to have any chance of getting the Kyuubi while he's with a small group of brats. It will be harder later when he's in the Hidden Leaf Village surrounded by shinobi!"

"We will not let the Kyuubi get away," said Kakuzu. "We will obtain it along with the Nanabi."

"You're pushing it awfully close."

At that moment, a waterfall jonin shushined into the campsite. He bowed to Kakuzu. "My lord, Suein wants to know if there's any progress on the invasion."

Dario scoffed. "Lord Kakuzu isn't ready for-"

"Actually," Kakuzu interrupted, "if you can wait a little longer, we begin the first phase of our invasion.

"We can?" asked Dario.

Kakuzu nodded. "The need for your 'useful' talents is once again needed. I want you to make tasteless, traceless poison gas that will knockout the village for at least 12 hours and disperse easily once released. Along with that, I want you to make an antidote for the Waterfall shinobi so they do not succumb to the poison as well. When the village is asleep, we will move."

"Why should I?" Dario growled. "Why not just make a poison that will kill everyone?"

"We only want to immobilize the village, not wipe it off the map. If we do, it might draw attention to our organization. As much as I hate him, I don't want to our leader to focus his attention on us."

"You're just saying that because you're scared of him. Again, why should I do this?"

Kakuzu growled and reached out for Dario. His hand, separated at the wrist, stretched ten feet across the campfire, wrapping around Dario's throat. Dario gagged as he was lifted off the ground. The jonin took a step back in fear as he finally began to see Kakuzu's power: **Earth Grudge Fear.**

"Don't forget who I am, Dario," he whispered. "Remember, I have no problem with ending your life."

"Ok, ok," Dario gasped. He fell to the ground when Kakuzu let go and began scrambling back to his tent/lab. "I'll get right on it."

Kakuzu chuckled darkly and turned to the jonin. "When he's done, I want you distribute Dario's weapon to every key point in the village. We want this to be fast and clean."

"Yes, sir," the jonin answered.

* * *

While the enemies were fighting amongst themselves, Fu and Naruto were out on patrol again. The two had really bonded over the week and were sharing everything about their lives. From Naruto's justsus to Fu's pranks. She marveled at the use of his creations while Naruto laughed about the way she pulled practical jokes. Everyday together made them even closer as friends.

But the real bombshell is when Naruto shared his biggest secret after the Kyuubi.

"Your father was Fourth Hokage?" Fu asked shockingly. "But didn't he seal the Kyuubi in you."

"Yes," Naruto admitted. "It's something I'm trying to figure out ever since I discovered the secret."

"What do you mean?"

Nartuo took a breathe before he began. "The night I was born, the Kyuubi was freed from the previous jinchuriki. Before it could destroy the village, the Yondaime sealed it within me. I was told by the Sandaime that the Fourth couldn't seal into just anybody. It had to be me."

Fu frowned. "Why?"

"Apparently, the answer is in my mother's journals," Naruto explained. He reached under his jacket and pulled out his mother's book. "When the Sandaime told me who my parents were, he gave me these. Maybe I'll found out why I'm so special."

Fu smiled. "You don't need a book to explain that. Anybody who spends time with you will clearly understand that."

Naruto returned her smile. "Thanks, sis." He opened the journal to his latest date. It was a year after she left her village and her first day at the ninja academy.

_September 1_

_I had real weird day. My first day at the academy and already people think I'm weird. It didn't help that the foster parents I'm staying with made me dress up in a 'nice' kimono and did my hair up. They said I looked nice, but I looked like a TOMATO! The kids in class where nice enough to comment on that. And now they're on my hit list._

_When I showed up, the teacher introduced me to class. Then asked me to share my dream with the class. That kind of stumped me since my dream was to become the strongest I can. I thought that wouldn't be impressive enough so I told everyone I was going to become the first female Hokage._

_Them laughing a second later didn't help. Then some kid stood up and said he was going to be come the greatest Hokage there had ever been. The kid really looked familiar. He looked almost like the kid who came with the jackass who was assigned to pick me up from my home village._

I wonder if the perv is still feeling that blow to his balls I gave him when he tried to hit on my mom.

Fu laughed. "Sounds like you mother was a real terror."

"She was," Naruto grinned. "Listen to this part."

_September 4_

_Today was the final straw. I got real sick and tired of every calling me a 'red tomato'. I haven't worn my hair like that since my first day, but the boys in class won't let me forget it. Today at lunch, three boys kept calling me that name. So, I beat them within an inch of their lives. Well, not really. Anyway, nobody is messing with me now. Everyone is keeping a clear distance from me and now gave me a new nickname. 'The Bloody Habanero'._

_I kinda like it._

"Wow. Your mom is really tough," Fu commented.

"I know," Naruto smiled and put the journal back into his jacket. "Reading her entries is almost like reading a story about my life. Even though we've never met, she almost sounds like she is an exact copy of me."

"What about the Fourth? Any traits you acquired from him?" Fu asked cautiously .

"Besides the blonde hair, no," Naruto frowned. "All I know about him is that he was considered a prodigy and a genius. He was also the hero of the Third War. Other than that, I really don't know much about him. I'm not exactly a genius or anything like that."

"I think creating several jutsus out of ramen dough qualifies as genius," Fu chuckled. Ever since her first bowl, she had become addicted to the soup as much as Naruto.

Naruto snorted. "Maybe."

Fu then grimaced. "You don't think he meant to turn you into a weapon like my village did, do you?"

Naruto thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't think so. Like I said, he sealed the Kyuubi into me after the fox escaped. I think it was a last second effort to save the village. But however heroic it was, I still don't like though. It sounds like that destiny crap that Neji is always spewing. 'I was chosen by fate to be a vessel,'" Naruto said in a monotone voice.

Fu rubbed his shoulder. "It's not easy being a host, is it?"

"I don't think I should complain. I mean, you've had it worse than me," said Naruto. "You've had Taka, but after him you didn't have anyone else. I've had friends who I really care about. I have an two adults i loved as a father and grandfather. A kid and teacher I look to as my younger and older brothers. And I have a girl who loves me. What do you have?"

"I have you now," Fu chuckled. She reached out and messed up his hair. "The loneliness is a lot easier to deal with now that I have someone to share it with."

Naruto smiled. "You're right. Maybe being a vessel isn't so bad at all."

"It's not," Fu smiled. "Now tell more about this family of yours."

"Who exactly?"

"Let's start with Teuchi," Fu suggested.

Naruto smiled as he thought of his adoptive dad. "Pops said that he came to the Hidden Leaf village when he was seven. He and his parents arrived here from the Hidden Mist Village, just before the civil war broke out. His father tried hard for nearly a year to find a job to support his family, but nothing was available for a former baker. Especially one from the Hidden Mists, who were on shaky terms with Konoha at the time."

"Do you think that's where Teuchi began to see past discrimination and help you at a young age?"

That made Naruto chuckled. "Maybe. He was looking for a job as well. Pops learned responsibility at a young age and really wanted to help his family out. He was able to get a job at a ramen shop with an owner who was willing to look beyond Pop's heritage to help a young child and his family. So at the young age of eight, Pops got a job and learned a life lesson."

"So he had grow up real quick, did he?"

Naruto scowled. "More than you know. About a year after Pops got the job, his mother died of a disease that swept the village during the war. The death was a hard blow to his father and he took up drinking heavily every night. Then, about six months after his mother's death, his father was killed in a bar fight."

"How horrible," Fu gasped.

"I know," Naruto said softly. "It really tore Pops up. Eight and a half years old and an orphan. But he was really lucky, more than most kids. His boss took pity on him once more and adopted him into his family. He was with them till their deaths nearly twenty-five years ago. He visits their grave every Sunday to give offerings on their tombstones, along with offerings for his wife, Hana."

"How did she die?" Fu asked cautiously.

"From the same disease that his mother did. It seems that fate is not without a sense of irony." Naruto took a deep breath. "Pops hides it well, but I can tell he misses her very much. They loved each other deeply."

"Do you love Ayame as much?"

Naruto smiled. "I do. She's the greatest thing that's happened to me as long as I been alive. She's beautiful, funny, and very supportive throughout my academy years. Although, she was very upset when I left for this mission. I can't blame her though."

Fu frowned. "Why?"

"Probably from all the stories she hears from mothers, wives and sisters who have lost loved ones in the war. She's worried I won't come back." Naruto pulled his pendant from under his shirt, with a grin. "I will though. It's a promise of a lifetime." He pushed his chakra into the pendant, watching the emerald glow for a moment.

Fu was curious about the pendant and reached out to touch it. When she made contact with the emerald, she felt a rush of a warm feeling wrapping around her body. It felt like a hug. A hug that warmed her soul and made her heart feel like it was floating."

She pulled back. "Wow. What was that?"

"Ayame's responding to the love I'm sending through the emerald. She's sending a response back through her pendant back in Konoha."

_Is this what love feels like?_ though Fu. She had never felt anything like that before. Sure, felt something similar whenever Taka was helping her with her problems, but not like this. That was more of a fatherly love. None of the boys in the village made her feel all fluttery before.

"I wish I could feel that loved," said a depressed Fu.

Naruto put his pendant back into his shirt and grabbed her hand. "You'll find someone one day. I guarantee it."

Fu scoffed. "With the bug in my stomach. No way."

"If I can, you can," Naruto countered. "It's not impossible."

The two didn't say anything for a while. They watched the sun sink lower and the shadows grow even longer. The faint songs of the crickets and the tree frogs were just beginning fill the air. The even fainter sounds of the festival told the two the party was still going strong. Along with the smells of the trees and the feel of the wind made the two vessels, feel even more alone in the world than they already were.

The silence was broken by Fu chuckling. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I can find someone who can return my feelings like you and Ayame can."

"That's the spirit," Naruto smiled.

"After all, if a bonehead like you can get a girl, how hard can it be for me to get a guy," she laughed.

Naruto scowled half-hearted before joining her in laughter.

* * *

Two hours later, Dario walked out of his tent carrying a test tube of blue liquid in one hand a bag of white powder in the other. He handed them to the Waterfall ninja.

"Here. All you need to do is mix these two solutions together in small amounts at different points of the village. The two will create a powerful gas and keep anyone down for at least four hours once inhaled. When they wake up, they'll be extremely weak for a full day. The liquid itself, however, is the antidote when taken alone. Share it with your comrades and they will be immune to the poisons.

The ninja accepted them with a nod. However, Kakuzu was not pleased.

"I said I needed the villagers unconscious for twelve hours, Dario," Kakuzu growled.

Dario folded his arms across his chest. "This is the best I could do what I had. Anything more powerful and even the most basic genin would notice the odor of the gas and of the liquid. Besides, do you know anyone else who could create something like this? Deal with it," he sneered.

"We need the extra time just in case something goes wrong."

"Well, if you weren't so cheap on supplies, I could have made something better."

The loud arguments between the two S-rank shinobi had drew attention in the camp. The mercenaries had come to see what what all the commotion was about. Some were sharpening their weapons while others were taking bets on the outcome.

"Your attitude on this mission has been greatly annoying," said Kakuzu. "I've warned you time and time again not to cross me."

"Too freakin' bad," Dario snarled back. "It's about time we did something. And I for one, am tired of your patience crap."

The mist-nin turned to his hired guns. "All right, men. We're moving out. We've got more than enough muscle to take out the Waterfall Village. With us and the traitors, we can-"

**SCCHHLLIIKKK!**

Several men gasped while others dropped there weapons. Several black ropes had burst from Dario's chest, right through his heart. Blood gushed from his wound in torrents while more leaked from his mouth.

Dario tried to speak, but all that came out what was a gurgle of bloody bubbles. He twitched several times, then was still. The ropes lifted his body into the air revealing Kakuzu with several of his stitches protruding from his wrist to Dario. He threw Dario's body into a nearby pond. The men watched, speechless and afraid.

Kakuzu turned to the mercenaries. "Anybody else have any opinions?" Everyone shook their heads. "Good."

"Lord Kakuzu?" asked the Waterfall-nin.

"Continue with the mission," Kakuzu ordered. "We will signal you when we are ready. We strike today."

The shonibi nodded and shushined away. Silence enveloped the camp as the mercenaries were still scared of what happened.

"Today?" one man was brave enough to ask.

Kakuzu nodded. "We will attack when the sun sets.

The men in the camp were silent for only a moment before giving a loud war cry. Swords clanged, daggers whipped, and all the while, Suein's men secretly released the bioweapon throughout the village.

* * *

Taka raised his head from his paperwork. He could hear the laughs and cheers from the festival across the lake, but it wasn't the noise that disturbed his peace. He felt the senses he had honed as a genin prickle on the back of his neck. He always had trusted those feelings. Now, they were telling him that something was going to happen. Something big.

He raised from his desk and made his way to the door. His ANBU leader appeared behind him.

"What's wrong, sir?" he asked.

"Get my son," he ordered, "and get Nara-san as well. I'll meet you in the tree."

"The tree?"

"Yes, the tree. After you're done, gather the rest of the ANBU and meet us there. There's a feeling in the air that I don't like and I want us to be prepared."

"Yes sir."

Taka watched his guard vanished then gaze out the window at the festival. A sinking feeling was developing in his stomach as he realized Shikaku was right. There was a traitor amongst his ninja. Because only one of his forces would know that tonight he was shorthanded on fighters. A majority of his shinobi were away on missions to help recover their financial decline.

"If that's the case, then I might have no choice," he said as he gazed at the Great Tree. The tree had been there ever since the village was formed and the alliance between the Leaf and Waterfall began. It was created by the First Hokage himself. He said as long as this tree is alive, the village would never turn against their allies. And as long as they remained allies, the village would be blessed with life and power.

Taka thought was more then generous. After all, a long time ago, the waterfall council sent a shinobi to assassinate the First Hokage. He failed, but instead of destroying the village in retaliation, the Shondaime formed an alliance. And sealed the alliance with the Great Tree and an treasure chest that contained the Seven-tailed Beetle.

True to his word, the village always flourished. They never had a bad season with their crops, the water was always clean and plentiful, and the trees deep roots had pushed up a mountain barrier to protect the village. And every one hundred years, the tree would produce a special water that was collected in the very heart of the trunk. Since the tree was grown with a special combination of water, earth, wood and the very essence of nature, the water was the purest form of energy that existed anywhere in the Elemental Nations. When drunk it boosted a shinobi's chakra to furthest limit depending on powerful the shinobi was. Sometimes nearly ten times more than a shinobi's regular chakra amount.

However, it had a double-edged sword affect. Whoever drunk the water would lose a good portion of their life-force. Taka was beyond his prime. So now matter how much of the water he took, he was sure he was going to die.

Despite that fact, Taka shishuned out of his office.

* * *

The sun was halved by the horizon when the mercenaries made their move. They split into two halves: those who were missing-nin or other fighters took the waterfall entrance. They were led by several Waterfall shinobi and guided to the correct water pools. These pools would lead them into the lake in the center of the village where the would meet with the Suein's jonin to defeat Taka and steal the Heroes Water. All Waterfall traitors had scratched through their headband symblols.

The second group, composed of thieves, bandits, and several samurai, were taking a secret entrance hidden behind a genjutsu on the other side of the valley. One of three skilled genjutsu masters was always performing the jutsu to the hide it. The one there now was one of the traitors.

The main goal of this group was to rendezvous with the other group to subdue the villagers when they awoke. And, if needed, cover a retreat. But they were confident in their leader's plan.

One samurai was so confident he was swinging his sword around in anticipation, making grooves in trees and in the grass. His last chop almost cut his comrade.

"Watch it!" the man barked.

"Sorry," the samurai smirked. "I hope we get to see some action. I'm really anxious to cut someone."

"Lord Kakuzu said any fighting would be handled by the jonin captain, not us," said a bandit behind him.

"Why should we leave the action to them?"

A Waterfall chunin who was leading the group turned over his shoulder to speak. "Captain Suien has offered each of you a pardon and a bounty when you help us. It would be wise to follow his orders."

The samurai sighed and sheathed his sword. "Fine."

The group was relieved. The noise the man was making was echoing through the forest. They were sure someone would have heard it. However, someone did.

"Halt!" a voice called out.

The group stopped and grabbed their weapons. A blonde-haired teen with a giant scar on his face had landed in front of the group. He was wearing a Waterfall chunin outfit with the Waterfall symbol on his headband. The Waterfall traitor stared at the teen, wondering who he was. He had never seen this boy before.

"Who are you?" the traitor called out.

"You are trespassing into the Hidden Waterfall village. I order you to stand down," the blonde ordered.

The chunin traitor was now even more suspicious. That wasn't the proper protocol win encountering an intruder. The newcomer should have radioed for help and tried his best to destroy them from the shadows, not confront them.

"Kill him," the traitor ordered.

The samurai howled with anticipation and leapt forward with his sword drawn. The blonde shinobi's eyes widened at the man charging him. He dodged three of the samurai's killing strokes before the fourth one caught across the neck.

But instead of blood spewing from the wound, the blonde disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"What the hell?" the samurai cried out. The other mercenaries started jeering the swordsman.

The chunin traitor, however, realized what had just happened. "Forward to the village, now!" he yelled.

"Why?" one of the bandits asked.

"They know we're coming!"

* * *

Naruto was laughing at another one of Fu's pranks when the memories of his clone came to him. He immediately jumped up and took off through the trees.

Fu, confused, was right behind him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"We need to get back to the village. There's going to be an invasion," he said.

"How do you know?"

"One of the invaders dispelled my clones. They're invading from the other side of the village," he explained.

"That's where the hidden exit is," Fu exclaimed. "We use that for the civilians to escape in case of an emergency. How did they find it?"

"One of the Waterfall chunins let them in," Naruto said darkly. "I saw one of them leading the invaders."

The two landed on the ground and began dashing at high speeds towards the lake.

"So what do we do?" asked Fu.

"I need to regroup with my team." Naruto tapped the microphone on his shirt. "Sensei?"

**"Yes, Naruto?"** said Shikaku through the tiny earpiece.

"You were right. They're moving now."

**"Understood. Head to the lake and rendezvous with everyone else."**

"Got it," said Naruto. He turned to Fu. "We need to meet my team and Taka at the tree."

"Why?"

"Shikaku-sensei told us that's where we would meet with Taka in case an invasion was imminent."

"What about your teammates? Will they be okay?"

"Shikaku-sensei will contact them. They can take care of themselves."

"You really do trust them, don't you," Fu grinned.

Naruto grinned back. "With my life. Shikaku-sensei has been training us to the fullest extent and beyond. We can handle anything."

However, the grin began to fade with each chakra jump he took. The anticipation of a fight, an actual battle, was beginning to excite and terrify him. Naruto always enjoyed a tough spar with Hinata or Shino, but it was only that: a spar. Now, he may have to kill for the first in order to complete his team's mission.

_I just hope I don't have to use my secret technique,_ he thought. _That would make everyone ask questions._

* * *

Ino, Shino, and their chunin escort were finishing their latest patrol in the east zone when Shino's radio beeped in his ear. He tapped the mic button attached to his jacket collar.

"Yes, sensei?" he asked.

**"Naruto's clones came in contact with a group of invaders. Head to the tree immediately."**

"Understood," he answered into the mic. He turned to Ino and their chunin escort. "We need to return to the village."

"What's wrong?" the escort asked.

"I'm afraid the village is under an immanent attack. We need to meet with Taka-san for a battle plan."

"Let's go," Ino said and led the way back to tree. Shino and the chunin followed right behind her.

They chakra hopped for a few minutes through the branches. Ino's hand kept drifting to her father's sword in nervous anticipation. She discussed the situation with her father, Iruka taught his students what to expect, and she ran simulations with Naruto and Shino. But nothing could ever prepare her for dealing with the real thing. She always thought her father's stories were something heroic and noble. He always made it sound like he was unstoppable and could fight an army. No fear at all. She always asked him if he was ever scared. Inoichi would just laugh and say he was every time he put a kunai in his hand. Ino never believed him. Her daddy was not afraid of anything.

But now she realized how wrong she was. She was going to get her first taste of what being a real kunoichi was all about.

Shino's thoughts were a little bit more calmer. Although, he couldn't shake the anxiety that was beginning to build inside him. It was causing his hive to buzz louder than usual and it was making him even more nervous.

He took a deep breath and tried to remember what his father had taught him about keeping calm.

_**We have something most shinobi don't have, Shino. We have an army inside of our bodies. The pact we make with our insects when we are young binds us together in a relationship that's more than symbiotic.**_ _** Our kikaichu are as much as our family as anyone else in Aburame clan. So remember that no matter how scared you are, your hive will always protect you.'**_

That's what the buzzing was. His kikaichu was ready to fight. To fight and protect.

But while this was running through his mind, Shino couldn't help but see their chunin escort at the corner of his eye. He saw the chunin slowly reaching inside his flap jacket. Shino's instincts went on high alert.

"Ino!" he yelled as he leapt forward from the branch he and the chunin just landed on.

The waterfall nin stopped as he pulled a kunai from his jacket and flung it towards Ino. Shino, using the momentum from his leap, grabbed Ino and directed them away from the throw. They weren't fast enough and the kunai struck in Shino's right bicep. He grunted with pain as he and Ino landed on another branch.

Ino saw the knife in Shino's arm and turned to the chunin. "What the hell is your problem?" she screamed at the man.

"He's one of the traitors," Shino groaned as he pulled the kunai out of his arm.

"That's right," the chunin sneered as he pulled three kunai from his jacket. "Captain Suein wants you kids eliminated. And as pathetic as wasting you two is, that's what I'm being paid for."

"You traitor," Ino growled. She withdrew her sword and stepped in front of Shino. "How could you betray your village like this?"

"Real simple, girly. Just like killing you will be!" the man yelled as he threw three kunai towards Ino.

Ino raised her sword in a defense block. Then, faster than Shino had ever seen her go, blocked all three knives with three, quick strikes. Ino gave a flourished sword swing and pointed the tip at the chunin's eyes.

"Next," she smirked.

"Ok, you have some skill," the chunin growled. He pulled two more knives out of his jacket and held them in a reverse grip. "So how are at close quarter combat?"

"Why don't you find out?" Ino mocked.

"I will," the man smirked. He bent his knees and prepared to spring. But his legs suddenly gave out on him and he fell on his stomach. "What the hell?"

Shino walked around Ino with his arm held out towards the chunin. "You made a grave mistake underestimating us."

The chunin tried raise himself up, but his strength had left him. He turned his head to see his limbs shaking as they tried to support his weight. But then he saw several black insects crawling from his sleeves, each one glowing blue.

"What the hell?" he growled. "When did these things get on me?"

"Always be aware of your surroundings," Shino lectured. "It's one of the first lessons you learn as a shinobi. You were so busy taunting us you never noticed my insects swarming you until it was too late."

The chunin laughed as he struggled to stand. "You really think you can stop us? We have a dozen of our best jonin and chunin ready to fight Taka along with several dozen of the worst bandits, ronin, and missing-nin to aid us. And to top it off, we are lead by Captain Suein and and S-Rank Shinobi. You're already dead. Soon, you two shall be the first victims of our war."

Ino flinched at his sentence. They had an S-rank nin leading them? This more than what they expected and definitely out of their league. This mission had just been bumped to a B-rank if not A-rank. She turned to Shino, only to see him raise his other arm and summon more insects. His kikaichu swarmed around his body as though they were a dark wind.

"You're wrong," Shino said. His voice was dark and it made Ino shiver with dread. "You will be the first victim. **Swarm**."

His kikaichu swarmed by the hundreds towards the fallen chunin. The man tried to struggle, but the insects swarmed on him, wrapping like a black blanket. The chunin muffled several screams, flailing his arms trying to fight off the insects. However, his body slowed and then finally stopped. The kikaichu flew off the body and back into the sleeves of Shino's jacket. The chunin was dead: his body was completely drained of chakra.

Ino stared at the man's lifeless body, witnessing a kill for the first time. She felt her stomach become lightless and try to leave her body. Ino gulped, fighting the urge to throw up. There was no blood or mutilations, but seeing the chunin's lifeless eyes and gaped mouth was disturbing enough. With her stomach churning, Ino felt weak and fell to one knee.

"Are you okay, Ino?" asked Shino in a dead voice.

"I'm…I'm fine," Ino whispered. "What about you? You just killed him."

"I know, Ino. I had no choice. He was willing to kill us with ease. I had to do it. To protect us and continue the mission."

The battle had made Ino temporally forget about the upcoming invasion. "We need to get back," she said.

"I know, let's-" Shino grimaced and grabbed his arm. The wound was bleeding profusely and had already stained half of his jacket sleeve. However, it didn't feel like the bone was broken and there didn't seem to be any heavy muscle damage since he could still move his arm.

"We should get that cleaned up before we move out," said Ino.

Shino shook his head. "We don't have time, we need to-"

"No!" Ino yelled. She grabbed his shoulders and made him sit down on the edge of the branch. "Remember what they said in medical class. We need to get that bandaged up or you're going to be losing that arm."

Shino didn't say anything. He knew what she said was true, he was just still fueled on adrenaline from using his insects and wanting to help his friend and sensei. Right now, he needed to keep calm and get wrapped up. "Ok, Ino. But please make it quick." He grabbed the shoulder of his jacket and with one quick jerk, he tore off the sleeve.

Ino, with bandage wraps already in her hands, stared at Shino's arm. The wound was still bleeding, but did not hit any major veins or arteries. But that's not what made her froze. Shino's arm had three other holes in his bicep and two more on his forearm. The five holes were one-inch in diameter. They seemed to be almost breathing. But neither one of them were bleeding so they were….

"They are fro my hive. It's where they come out of," Shino explained. "They don't hurt, if that is what you are wondering."

Shino's statement reassured her and began to work. The skills the trio learned from Shikaku's training methods were really coming in handy at the moment. It really did help to expect the unexpected.

"You're all set," Ino said as she patted his arm. She couldn't help blush as she noticed after she was done how developed his arm was after a month of hard training. He always wore his jacket so no one had ever seen what he looked like after Shikaku-sensei took over Team 10.

Shino noticed her stare and blush, but did not comment on it. They had more pressing matters to be dealt with. He held the 'talk' on his mic. "Sensei, our chunin escort was one of the traitors so watch yourself."

There was a second delay before Shikaku answered. ** "Are you two ok?"**

"Yes. We have eliminated our target and are currently on our way to the tree. We though we should warn you about your escort."

* * *

"Thanks, for the warning Shino. Meet you two at the tree," Shikaku answered.

**"Affirmative,"** Shino answered.

Shikaku turned around to see his escort with a katana in his hand. His body was poised to strike. This may have been a problem if the ninja had not already been captured in Shikaku's Shadow Posession. That was about nearly five minutes ago.

"So are you final going to tell me who is organizing the attack besides Captain Suein?" he asked calmly.

The shinobi used what movement he had and spat on the ground at Shikaku's feet. "I'll never tell."

Shikaku sighed and put his hands in the Ram symbol. "Suit yourself. **Shadow Strangle Jutsu.**"

Shikaku's shadow began to rise from the ground. It formed into a hand and wrapped around the ninja's neck. The man gave a quick scream before he started to gag. Shikaku tightened his grip even more before the Waterfall nin began squealing.

"Okokok," he squeaked.

Shikaku lessened the grip but didn't let go. "So who else is here?" he asked calmly.

"We hired two men that work together in an organization. They deal with anything who is willing to pay them enough money," the man gagged. "One of the two is named Dario, the plague of the Mists."

Shikaku bit back a curse. Dario was a S-Ranked Missing Nin from the Land of Water. He was labeled a traitor by his village for selling his all types of poison's to his people as well as their enemies. What's more is that his worst weapon could combine his poisonous vapors along with the famed Hidden Mist technique. Dario killed hundreds of his enemies as well as dozens of his own comrades.

"Who is the other?" Shikaku asked, prepared for the worst.

"Kakuzu of the Waterfall."

Shikaku felt his stomach drop. "That's impossible. He died over a hundred years ago."

The ninja shook his head. "No, you're wrong. I've seen him with my own eyes. Solid green eyes. And a voice that would even scare the Shikigami. I've even seen the technique he stole from our village."

There was no lie in the man's voice. The revalation stunned Shikaku so much that he dropped his Shadow Possession. The Waterfall-nin felt movement back into his limbs and charged the dazed Leaf-nin. The man gave a yell of victory as his katana sliced through the man's neck. But then his expression changed to horror when the man poofed in a cloud of smoke and into a log.

"Nice try, traitor," said a voice behind the man. The traitor turned to slice his opponent once more, but was caught again in Shikaku's shadow.

"I'm afraid I don't have time to bring you to the proper authorities for your crimes against the Waterfall. So I'll handle your execution, betrayer. **Shadow Strangle Jutsu.**"

The man barely had time to cry out before the shadow hand found his throat, crushing his windpipe.

Shikaku didn't have time for man to strangle to death with one quick flick of his hands, his shadow snapped the man's neck. Before the man's body hit the ground, Shikaku had created a shadow clone.

"Go back to the village and tell Sarutobi we need a squad of ANBU and as many jonin and chunin as he can spare on the way here. If what the nin said his true, were going to need all the help we can get," Shikaku told his clone. The copy nodded and shushined out of sight.

Shikaku sighed and began running towards the tree once more. Although, he was probably only preluding his and his students' deaths. His shadow clone and reinforcements won't be here for at least half a day if the troops go all out to get here. There was no way they would be here in time to help. Especially if there were two S-Rank shinobi leading this attack force.

Especially Kakuza. If the shinobi was correct about the former Waterfall-nin, then he was probably right about the secret technique he stole from the village.

**Earth Grudge Fear.**

Shikaku didn't know much about the jutsu, but he did know that it infused the user's body with black, thread-like ropes. With them, he could detach his body parts and extend them to inflict injury on his opponent. It could also be used like is Shadow Weaving techniques. But after that, the jutsu was a mystery. There was a rumor that Kakuzu killed the former Waterfall Shinobi Council and stole their hearts to full his power. There was another that he was immortal with this jutsu. There was no proof, however.

With all the mystery around this mission, Shikaku was probably sure of one thing.

There was a big chance he and his team were going to not survive this mission.

* * *

Well there you have it, the newest chapter. Please review. I would love to hear opinions on how the story is progressing.


	13. Solace and Preparations

When Naruto and Fu arrived on the outskirts of the village, they immediately knew something was wrong. The village, which was bustling and loud on just a few hours earlier, was silent. No music, yells, laughter. Nothing.

"What happened?" asked Fu.

"I don't know," admitted Naruto. At the speed the duo was traveling, he thought they would arrive in time to help form a defense. Could they have already been too late?

When there were no more trees, they hopped to the ground and ran towards the village. A few quick dashes and they could see the streets and all the decorations for the festival. And several people lying on the ground.

Fu ran ahead, ignoring Naruto's protests. He groaned and followed her.

_And people say I rush forward blindly_, he thought.

He caught up to Fu checking the pulse on a young child. She looked up at him. "He's alive, but looks like he's been heavily sedated."

"They're all asleep?" he asked. Looking around, he didn't seen any signs of a battle. No scuff marks on the ground and blood in the dirt or on the victim's clothes.

"So what is this? I'm guessing it's not some sort of festival game?"

"It's not," Fu said as she rolled the child into a comfortable sleeping position. "Whoever did this wanted the villagers alive, but I'm not sure why."

"Why not kill them?" asked Naruto.

Fu shook her head at his question, not knowing the answer either. "We should keep moving."

Naruto nodded and they ran towards the Great Tree.

* * *

"But why, Dad? Why do you need to do this?" asked a worried Shibuki. He was watching his father strap on his battle armor while one of his ANBU stood guard. The three shinobi where in a special room built inside the Tree. It was a fortified bunker along with several tunnels, false rooms, and traps. It was also a storage facility for their weapons, secrets, and war machines.

"It's my job, son," replied Taka. He was tying on his forearm guards. "As the leader of this village, it's my duty to protect everyone in this village. It's one of the decisions you make when you become leader."

"But I'm scared," his son admitted. "And I'm not even fighting."

"I'm scared too, but I can't let that stop me from protecting the village I love and the villagers that live in it." Taka finished preparing and walked to his son. "When I was nominated to become the leader of our village, I knew one day this situation would present itself. It is one I've prepared for in all my years of being a shinobi. And even my death is imminent, I cannont turn my back to my duty."

Shibuki bowed his head, trying not to show the tears that were beginning to form. "But…"

Taka put a hand on Shibiuki's shoulder. "It'll be alright, son. Trust me to do the right thing."

Shibuki nodded, then gave his father a fierce hug. Taka returned it, knowing it might be his last.

"Sir, we need to move," his ANBU announced.

"I know," answered Taka. He released Taka and turned towards a tunnel in the room. "Get going, son."

Shibuki nodded and hurried towards another tunnel to a safe room built for such occasions. He walked down the hallway he was just staring at. At the far end of the tunnel was a metal safe with a tag seal on the door. Shibuki place a finger on the tag, which glowed for a moment before falling off and opening the door.

Inside the safe was the Waterfall's greatest weapon: The Hero's Water.

Contained inside a glass bottle, there was only enough for a few big gulps. Taka sighed. Believe it or not, the time of the coronation festival was also the hundred year time limit for water to be harvested from the Great Tree. Only the Waterfall council and the leader knew about the harvesting due to the secrecy.

Taka strapped the bottle to his belt and walked back to the entrance. His ANBU was waiting for him outside.

"Report," ordered Taka.

"Everyone in the village is in a sort of heavily sedated state. Tori found several spots in different parts of the village that had small traces of a powdered residue that he could not identify. Whatever knocked out the villagers, it has dispersed and evaporated."

Taka grimly nodded at the news at the state his village was in. Then, his second ANBU shishuned beside the first.

"Taka-san, one of the Konoha genin's clones found me and reported that small invasion force has entered through our village's escape route. They are reported to be nothing more than bandits and thieves with a few ronin. Furthermore, another smaller, but more powerful force will be entering the waterfall entrance within the next ten minutes. They are…." the ANBU trailed off, not wanting to admit he saw several of his comrades among the invaders.

Taka felt his heart break at the silence. So, it was true. Several of his shinobi, his family, had betrayed the Waterfall village.

"Nearly 80% of village's shinobi are sick do to the outbreak. And now less than half of our remaining forces are away on missions right now," Taka said to his comrades. "How many Waterfall ninja have betrayed us?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't get a clean count. The attack force seems to made up of Waterfall shinobi and missing-nin from around the Elemental Nations. At the least, 30 shinobi. But Tori has gathered all of our forces who escaped the sneak attack earlier. He currently has 3 jonin and 12 chunin ready for our counterattack. We also have the Konoha nin as well."

"Very well. Let's meet with Tori and the others," said Taka.

"There's one more thing, sir," said the ANBU. "The traitors are led by Captain Suien."

* * *

Naruto and Fu were almost to the Great Tree when they spotted a group of Waterfall shinobi between the Tower and the lake. Naruto pulled a kunai from his holster as he prepared to attack. But when he saw Shikaku appear near them and walk to an ANBU, he realized these ninjas were the good guys. Naruto and Fu hurried forward and landed near the group.

"Sensei!" Naruto called out as he hurried forward.

"Naruto. Glad to see that you're alright," Shikaku said with a grim smile. "Have you seen Shino and Ino?"

"No, sensei," Naruto admitted. "Not since your last call."

"They're with me," a voice called behind Naruto and Fu. The turned to see Taka with Shino, Ino, and the remaining ANBU walking to the group.

"We found Taka-san leaving the tree as we arrived," Shino announced. "We decided to accompany them."

Naruto hurried forward to greet his friends when he saw Shino's arm. "What happened to you?"

Shino grasped his arm below the bandage. "Our escort was one of the betrayers and attempted to assassinate me and Ino."

"What?!" exclaimed Fu in shock.

"I'm fine," Shino admitted. He send a nod towards Ino. "Ino was able properly treat my wound and I am capable to continuing with the mission."

"Are you sure?" asked Shikaku. The slightly, red bandage on his student's arm shook him a little bit. It was almost like seeing his own son injured.

Shino sent a nod as well as Ino. When Shikaku turned to Naruto, he nodded as well. Everyone turned to attention as Taka cleared his throat.

"I'm afraid we don't have time to properly get ready, so I'll be quick. Two invasion forces are currently en route to the village with intentions of a a hostile takeover from what we can gather from Naruto-san and my ANBU. One force is made up of ronin, bandits and other desperate types invading from the north. The second group is more dangerous, made up of missing-nin as well as forces from our village that have gone rogue. Each group will be here within the next ten minutes."

Naruto felt his gut clenching at Taka's words. A civil war was about to break out and his team, a low-rank genin squad, were about to be drawn into the middle of it. He heard the stories of the Third Ninja War when genins were immediately rushed to the battle field after only a month of training, but he really didn't believe it. Now he knew how wrong he was.

"The bandit force would normally pose no threat, but the rogue force outnumbers our current force by possibly 2 to 1. They are being led by Captain Suien of the Jonin so it's probable he has some jonin as well. We have all of our ANBU forces, a dozen chunin and 3 jonin, but we're still going to be in danger of being overwhelmed to the rogue force. So the rogue ninja will engaged by us," Taka finished, indicating him and the Waterfall ninja.

"There is something else," interrupted Shikaku. He paused as everyone focused on him. "There is the possibility that there are two S-ranked ninjas accompanying them: Dario of the Mist and Kakuza of the Waterfall."

There a couple of gasps, several scoffs, and one chuckle. Taka didn't say anything. He just stared at Shikaku with a serious look.

"How can you be sure?" Taka asked in a quiet tone.

"I was also ambushed the guide I was assigned," Shikaku explained, ignoring the guilty look on Taka's face. "According to the traitor, Suien paid an organization to help them organized this attack. Dario was the one responsible for the virus outbreak against your shinobi force. I don't know what Kakuza's role in this, but something tells me he is here for reasons other than revenge."

One chunin stepped forward. "This is ridiculous. Kakuza can not be alive. This has got to be some ploy to strike fear in us by saying some S-ranked ninja has come back from the dead."

"We heard the same thing," Shino interjected. "Our attacker admitted they had two S-ranked criminals as well. This is no ploy."

"Again, that is ridiculous."

Taka waved a hand in dismissal. "Enough! Regardless who they have, we will meet them in battle nonetheless. We prepare for the worse, S-ranked shinobi or not. So keep on your toes. Understood?"

"Hai!" yelled the Waterfall ninja.

"So what are our orders?" Shikaku asked as he stood by his students.

"Nara-san, I'm afraid you're abilities of shadow manipulation will be needed here against the rogue force. I can't spare any of my ninja to leave so you're students will engage the first invasion force."

Naruto stiffened, as well as Ino and Shino. Taka was leaving it to him and his friends to stop a small army from taking over a village?

The three genin all looked at each other with doubt, fear, and anxiety. But when Naruto looked around the group, he saw the Waterfall shinobi looking at them with a grim expression while Taka and Fu both had a pleading look. They needed help badly and his team were the only ones who could do anything about it. While Naruto was taught to expect the unexpected, he didn't believe that his first real mission would be in the middle of a civil war. He thought he wouldn't be ready for something like for a long time.

But then….he wanted something bigger. He volunteered for this mission, knowing the consequences. What kind of person would he be if he broke his promise? If he went back on his word? By not fighting, he would fail himself, his teacher, his comrades, and his village. And he would fail to protect the sister he just found.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto looked Taka in the eye and nodded. "I'll do it. I won't go back on my word and abandon those who need my help. As a shinobi of Konoha, I will fight."

Shino, seeing his friend's courage, nodded in agreement. He and Ino have already experience a small piece of what was to come. And if his friend was willing to continue, he would honor that request and uphold the honor of his clan and village.

"I cannot let my friend help you fight a war on his own. As a shinobi of Konoha, I will fight," Shino said.

Ino watched the two genin she had begun to see as her best friends swear to fight with a village the barely spent time in with people they barely knew. She had to admit, the encounter earlier had shook her up. But seeing Naruto and Shino stepping forward, she knew she could not get left behind.

"And I'm not the one who leaves her teammates behind to fight on their own. As a kunoichi of Konoha, I will fight," said Ino.

Shikaku smiled with pride at his students. He could see the fear in their eyes, but their courage transcended easily above . With a grim satisfaction, he realized his students had grown up quickly.

Taka nodded at the three genins statements, knowing they would live up to their word. He heard a small sniffle and saw Fu trying not to cry. With that, he made his decision.

"Fu, I want you to go with them," Taka decided.

Fu turned to him with wide eyes. "What?"

Taka smiled at her. "This is a direct order I want you to follow to the T. Go with the Konoha ninja. Help them out and protect them."

Fu stared at Taka for a moment before standing at attention. "Yes, sir!" She walked over the Naruto and stood beside him with a grin.

"Alright everyone," Taka announced. "Let's move out."

"Yes, sir!" called out the Waterfall ninja. All of them leapt as one and scattered to different parts around the lake.

Shikaku turned to his students and took a deep breath. "Well, I guess this is it."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, along with Shino and Ino.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," said Shikaku.

"Why, sensei?" asked Ino.

"I knew the potential dangers of this mission but I still accepted it. I was responsible for your safety. It's my fault I got you into this mess."

"Sensei, it's not your fault," Naruto insisted. "We're not children anymore. We're ninja of the Leaf. We accepted the mission knowing the consequences."

Naruto's gaze never left Shikaku's as he stared at his students. He was determined not to show any fear to his teacher or his friends. He was going to survive. He was going to make it back home. Back to Ayame.

Shikaku finally gave a small nod of acceptance. "Alright then. You four be careful. I'm only going to give you one direct order: Stay. Alive. Understood?"

"Hai, sensei!" shouted Team 10 and Fu.

Shikaku gave a firm nod and went to join the Waterfall ninja when Naruto spoke up.

"Wait, sensei!" he yelled. He put his hands in a cross symbol. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu**!"

In a burst of smoke, 50 clones appeared around the five ninjas.

"They may be genin-level and vanish with one punch, but maybe they'll give you the edge you need to win," Naruto explained. "They will most likely stand no chance though against the jonin though."

"Thanks, Naruto," grinned Shikaku. "Now get going."

The four genin nodded and dashed away. Shikaku watched them until the disappeared into the trees.

_Kami, please keep them safe_, he prayed silently. "Let's go," he said to the clones.

"Right," all of them said.

* * *

Team 10 and Fu entered the forests and jumped into the trees with Naruto leading them. Each one was ready for what was about to happen. Fu was ready to defend her village, Shino was ready to honor his word, Ino was ready to help her friends. And Naruto was willing to do anything to protect his team and return home.

He formed his right hand into a two-finger symbol. An instant later, a shadow clone formed beside him much to amazement of his friends. Ino and Shino knew he could form clones silently but the art still amazed them ever chance they saw it.

"Here is the situation," he announced. "My remaining shadow clones have been following the invaders and one just dispelled to let me know what's going on. Sensei was right about the majority of them being nothing but bandits and ronin, but there are at least 5 chunin with them. All together, we most likely looking at an invasion force of at least 80 enemies."

"So what do we do?" Ino asked.

"The ronin and thieves would be no problem for the four of us, but the chunins are the real danger," said Shino. "We're not capable of taking them on one-on-one, only possible as a team. I'm afraid our option is to overwhelm the chunin with sheer numbers."

"My clones will handle that," Naruto growled. "There's more than a hundred of them, just waiting to strike."

"But are they going to be enough?" Fu asked. "I mean, we are going against seasoned shinobi and a group of thugs whose main job is to cause trouble."

Naruto chuckled. "We're teenagers. It's our livelihood to cause trouble. Here's what we're going to do…."

* * *

Kakuza was currently hidden in the trees with a perfect view of the upcoming battle. He was trusting his 'comrades' to give a good fight against his intended targets. Though if the either one was killed, they're would be hell to pay.

_But don't make it too easy_, he thought. He had been itching for a fight for days.

* * *

**I just wanted to apologize to everyone for taking this long to post a chapter. Things have been rough. I'm not exactly proud of this chapter, so feel free to tell me if it sucks. Depending on the reviews, I may rewrite.**


End file.
